Space

[Rihn]

Now in hyperspace, the fleet prepared for their next move. If nothing else, Rihn was sure he had gotten the Empire's attention. Everything was on schedule.

 

"Continue as planned, Commander..."

[Ary the Grey]

Aryian's ship, much like Slicer's, goes zoom zoom ZOOOM!!

[ObliviousKnight]

Somewhat like Aryian's ship (albeit slightly different), Armiena's Ghost Breath went vroom vroom VROOOM!

 

Ah, they were so perfectly in tune with each other, even their ships appeared to be soul mates...

[Damon]

In space was a location that was ever changing. A station existed that could not be found unless you already knew it was there. This was the eyes and ears of Specail Operations and the main tool of Seer.

 

A small ship landed inside a blank void of space. When the ship vanished inside the void shadow station came to life. Once out of the ship the large implant within Damon's mind went to work answering any and all request of its user. Moving to the main Communication / Operation station within Shadow the mobile station began its jump to Courrsant.

 

Once Damon finally reached the station he went to work of doing his first task. Getting read to find and disarm these weapons.

[Mara N. Jade]

Mara settled herself into the room indicated by the Count, waiting for him to join her, hoping to get more information from him as to who his informant was and where Leo was. Now that they were back in space and she could access the force again she reached out to Leo again, trying to keep her presence at a minimum, not wanting to alarm him, but wanting to know that he was alright.

[darth shadowlord]

Draken waited till they were in hyperspace before he left the cockpit. As he passed by Mara's room, he left a sense of curiousity and longing at her door. It was something that she could not help but come in search of. He kept walking till he reached his training room. He took off his cloak and his shirt, hanging them in the closet.

 

With that done he set up his lightsabre program and set it on Masters level. Once he had done that he picked up a black blindfold and tied it over his eyes. Using the Force, Draken turned out the lights in the training room and summoned his two curved sabres to his hands, smiling as he heard the familiar snap and hiss of his two blades igniting.

 

He heard the same sound from the robot and moved to attack. His senses tingling as he moved to the side and deflected the first attack. He couldn't see the robot and he had to trust his reflexes and instincts if he was to escape with out injury. For now however, he wasnt using his sixth sense better known as the Force.

 

He fought like this for about twenty minutes and he found that his reflexes were quite a bit slower then that of the robot as proven by the various burns on his chest. He opened his mind up to the Force now, allowing its currents to flow through him again as he turned to face the robot, drawing both his sabres up in a salute which the robot echoed.

 

Yet again the robot made the first move and like as before Draken parried it easily. Except that this time instead of just parrying it, he spun it around and slipped his sabre through the robots guard. He slashed a long black mark along the droid chasiss.

[Ganelon of Seneferia]

A disheveled Ganelon sits in his craft, letting it idly drfit through space. Sobered up now, he realizes how very, very luck he was to get out of Coruscant in one piece, especially with the Zara just happening to be in the bar.

 

With enough fuel to get him where ever he needed, he leaned back to consider his options. Black Sun could work... mayabe.... though a condition of the peace here on out might have Zara demanding his head. The Alliance wouldn't want a known criminal. If he still had his funds from the heist he could smooth things over, but having lost them, he was without the ability to bargain there. The Empire didn't treat aliens kindly and military life disagreed with the almost effeminant nobleman who hated dirtying his hands. The Hutts could offer some possiblity if they needed a "respectabe" face, though much was left up in the air...

 

So many choices... and so little room to act on them...

[Mara N. Jade]

After a while Mara got tired of sitting and waiting and decided to go and look for the Count. After a bit of wandering, Mara heard the distinct humming buzz of a light sabre coming from a room just down the hall.

 

Opening the door a little Mara poked her head in. What she saw amazed her. The Count was dualing with a droid, using two spectacular curved light sabres. She looked in just in time to see him slash the droid, leaving a long black mark along the chasiss.

[CassandraKirk]

Winter's Storm jumped into hyperspace, headed towards Gala.

[darth shadowlord]

Draken continued to fight for several moment before he turned to her, his eyes still blindfolded. He waved his hand toward the light switch, using the Force to bring the lights back on. He closed down his sabres amd took off his blindfold.

 

"Hello Mara. I believe you had said something about lightsabres?" Draken remained shirtless, his well muscled chest was tanned and had several scars on it.

[Mara N. Jade]

Mara shielded her eyes as the lights snapped on without warning. She tried to think back to what exactly she had told him about her light sabre experiance.

 

"I had a minimal amount of training in the use of a light sabre. Between Tristan and Leo they were able to teach me the basics, but that was about it. I lost my sabre when I was taken captive."

[darth shadowlord]

Draken stroked his chin for a moment, minimual experience with a sabre would prove to be a problem. However that he supposed could be taken care of. He beckoned her into the training room and pressed a button which brought a bench out from the wall.

 

He sat down on the bench beside her. "Tell me what you do know about Lightsabre fighting and what form you were learning."

[Mara N. Jade]

"Well, to tell you the truth, I don't know much, and I am not sure what form I was being taught, or if I was even being taught a form. I had just recieved my first light sabre when we were attacked, so I just learned enough to keep myself alive long enough for others to fight for me, after that I didn't get to learn much more before I was captured."

 

Mara looked at the Count and shrugged her shoulders.

 

"That's about the extent of my experiance with a sabre."

[darth shadowlord]

"Oi, this may take quite a while. Alright, I can help you with that."

 

Draken brought out his two lightsabres and tuned them down so that they were the same intensity of training sabres. "I was once told that the only way to truly learn something was by taking part in it. So that exactly what you will do. We will spar and I will teach you about a lightsabre and lightsabre combat."

 

"I'll start slowly. We will start with Shii-Cho or the first lightsabre form. There are six body attack zones in Shii-Cho, they are 1, head; 2, left arm; 3, right arm; 4, back; 5, left leg; 6, right leg."

 

Draken stood up, igniting his sabre and assumed a ready stance. "Attack me and I will parry your attacks, remember your six attack zone when you attack me." He waited for her attack.

[Sabian]

More of a "put-put VRROOM" then anything.

[Mara N. Jade]

Mara took the offered sabre. Activating the blade, the crimson color bathed her hands in a blood red light. Trying to remember what Leo and Tristan had taught her about holding a blade, Mara assumed a fighting stance.

 

Sweeping the blade down to her right, towards Draken's left leg. Stepping forward and to her right she snapped the blade back up towards his oncoming right arm.

[darth shadowlord]

Draken watched her movements, she did know some of the basics. Her stance was a bit open, leaving her unguarded against certain attacks. He could help her with that in a moment. He knew just the method to aid her with her stance and possibily her speed.

 

He turned aside her lower strike towards his left leg, brushing it aside with a slight movement of his wrist. For her second attack, he simply leapt over her head and landed behind her. When she turned, he held up his hand to stop her for a moment.

 

"Your stance is too open, you leave too much of yourself unguarded." Draken slipped behind her and put his hand over her hand. Once he had done that, Draken pressed a button on his comm link which switched the robot into the most basic form of lightsabre combat.

 

Using his well trimmed body, he guided Mara into a more guarded stance. He let the robot come and attack Mara. As the robot attacked Draken whispered for Mara to let Draken lead her and show her how to parry attacks.

[Mara N. Jade]

Still slightly wary of contact from her long imprisonment, Mara tensed slightly when Draken put his hands on hers to guide her movements.

 

Relaxing into the force Mara let him guide her hands, parrying the attacks from the droid. It felt good to be training again, learning to defend herself.

 

Mara could tell that when the exercise was over she would be a bit stiff and sore, but luckily healing was one of the first things she had learned, and it seemed to be something she had a talent for.

[Jidai Geki]

*The transport containing Geki and Jareth, followed closely by Jareth's craft, turns towards its destination thousands of lightyears away and streaks into hyperspace.*

[darth shadowlord]

Draken noticed Mara tensing and stepped back. "My apologies, Mara. I didnt mean to remind you of your past. If you perfer we can take a break or we can continue. Its up to you."

 

He waited for her reply.

[Mara N. Jade]

Mara closed her eyes for a moment to regain focus and relax herself, then opened them, a new look of determination on her face.

 

"No, I really want to learn how to defend myself. Let's try again."

[darth shadowlord]

"Very well, I will show you a bit of my form better known as Form II or Makashi. This is a more complicated form then the first form. Makashi was designed specifically for dueling with a sabre. This is my main form. With this form the sabre becomes an extension of your arm, the slightest movement of your wrist can parry an attack, like so."

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Draken saw the robot coming to attack him. that was perfect for him as it allowed him to show the ease of a parry with Makashi. He moved his wrist one inch and knocked the robot's sabre to the side, then quickly used the force to stop the droid's programming.

 

"You see what I mean, the only part of my body that I moved was my wrist." He moved behind her again and shifted her body into a fencing stance. As before, he gently put his hand over her hand and reactivated the driod which came at her slowly. He guided her through the parry showing her how it was done.

[Mara N. Jade]

Paying close attention to what Draken showed her, Mara took in every detail of what she heard and saw. She wanted to learn everything that she could, and Draken was teaching her more about a sabre than Tristan and Leo combined.

 

This time when he helped her shift her body into a fencing stance, and covered her hands with his own in order to guide her, she relaxed into it, trusting him to help her parry the oncoming attacks from the droid.

[darth shadowlord]

Draken smiled and continued to guide her through parrying. He was impressed at how fast she was getting the hang of how to parry with Makashi. Perhaps it was time for him to let her face a live opponent in a friendly duel.

 

Draken stepped back and deactivated the droid. He pulled his sabre from his belt and ignited it. "We are gonna do a bit more now, Mara. Attack me." He saluted her with his sabre and slipped into a guard stance.

[DarthBrendo]

Mindan slumbered restfully as the Laayla made its way through hyperspace heading towards the Hapes cluster.

[Gren Sairdonga]

A single E-Wing flew through hyperspace.

[Mara N. Jade]

Mara returned the salute Draken offered and fell into an attack stance. Using what he had taught her, she attacked, keeping her blade low and to the left for the first few strikes, aiming for the legs, then suddenly changing and aiming high and to the right, hoping to create an opening by catching him slightly off guard by the sudden change.

[darth shadowlord]

Draken began to parry her attacks, his sabre knocking aside her sabre with a practiced ease. She was keeping her attacks low and angled as if she was trying to get him to overextend his reach and leave himself open to her attack. She had caught on to the basic's of Makashi quite well, as he found out a moment later.

 

He hadn't been expecting her to switch to a high attack and he moved backwards to avoid the first attack. His sabre spun in his hand, knocking her attack low. Now it was his turn, he moved to the attack, shoving her back with a force push. His attack starting out low and to the right as he feinted in that direction, but suddenly, just before he got in range of her, moved left.

 

His sabre slipping past her defenses and charring through her shirts left shoulder. "That is one."

[Bad karma]

The unending silence of space could drive a man insane if left to his own devices. If one were to travel in a ship so small that there was no freedom it would only magnify the effects. This, of course, was the least of the weakened force user's worries.

 

He sat as still as a stone in the cockpit of his Mech, with hair dangling over his closed eyes as he focused on controlling his breathing that had been wildly out of control every since the gravity of his situation had hit him. His scant clothing had a considerable amount of rips in the same areas as his flesh, yet the lacerations upon his flesh had not been inflicted by any normal means”¦so the tear in his clothes was a curious one.

 

Countless gallons of blood had been spilt in effort to quench his blood lust, or at the very least sate it for a short while. In most any situation the amount of innocents that had been slaughtered on Coruscant would have easily sated him”¦yet this time was different. It was as if not a single one of the dearly departed counted towards his goal; save for the two Jedi. They had ruined his dedication. They had publicly embarrassed him. They”¦They were scum, deserving of the deaths they received.

 

He knew, despite their title as Jedi, that they would seek retribution. It might not come today or tomorrow but he knew one day he would wake to a pounding on his doorstep that was the Jedi Order. The Sith Order and Empire even had been relatively inactive and he was probably considered a top priority. Not something he liked, he would have to strengthen the defenses at Roon even more.

 

Trowa let out a sigh, his body shivering from the cold as he did. He was disappointed with how sloppy he had become in his evil schemes, perhaps he was losing it. The eternal still of hyperspace was beginning to wear on him when combined with the silence, so he stretched a bit and pressed back in his seat”¦drifting off to sleep during the long trip.

 

__

 

He had been out of hyperspace for over half an hour, changing into his armor so that he could enter space freely. It wasn't that difficult of a task, even though he was in some rather cramped confines. He had been surprised to see that Yavin IV was back, yet still not on the charts”¦but it was of no real concern to him of how it had returned.

 

The Uncrowned King was left to drift in space as Trowa used the force to propel himself forward. He took his time, looking through the asteroids and meteors. Every so often a gleam would catch his eye and he'd press off one rock towards it, but none of them seemed to fit the bill. It felt like he had been at it for hours before he finally stopped and let himself drift for a while. The armor he was in prevented much of the harsh environment from coming through, but the cold was beginning to become a problem.

 

He turned his thoughts to Shy-Ree, thinking back on all the times he had spent with her. As he continued to dwell on such thoughts, he felt some of the lingering anger being purged from his body as the force guided him through the field. It wasn't long before he came to a small clump of the Gem's he sought. He hadn't been past this one yet and felt amazed he had missed it.

 

Trowa smiled behind his mask and pulled out his dagger. He jammed it into the crack between the gem and the space rock it was attached to. It was easy work separating the two and once done he opened up a pouch on his hip and slipped it inside. He took several quick looks around then pressed off the rock and back towards his Mech. The Gem was uncut, so he would have to make one more stop before returning to Roon.

[Mara N. Jade]

Hissing at the sting from the slight touch of the sabre on her left arm Mara pulled back quickly, bringing her blade in high to Draken's right. As he moved forward to parry the attack, she shut down her blade, ducked and rolled under his, coming to her feet behind him and re-activating her blade. Spinning she brought her blade up to parry his counter attack.