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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Dec 22, 2016 19:01:58 GMT -8
In the brief second between flight and impact, the cultist that KR-04 intended the Jedi to slam into was no longer where he had been. In that second, a massive droid had rounded a corner and swung an arm shaped like a cannon at the Arkanian's head. The side of the cannon slammed into the soldier's skull like a cudgel, and the blasterfire stopped suddenly as the Arkanian smashed into the near wall, then went limp against it. The Barabel was next. Without a beat wasted, the droid reversed the arm, impacting the cultist in the side and sending him flying back into the corridor. The droid took the cleared hallway with a single overlong stride, aiming past the Jedi and at the droid farther down the corridor. The droid's domed head flickered to life, revealing the face of a pretty woman--with a face twisted in sudden anger. "Switching to live fire," she said in a hard voice, more for the benefit of the man in her arms than for the enemy ahead. "Cover your ears." She notched and locked her arm; there was the brief whine of a rapidly-charging laser, and then an explosion of rapid fire.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Dec 15, 2016 13:24:44 GMT -8
Gleam
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Dec 12, 2016 11:21:00 GMT -8
Leigh's hologram simulated a snort. "And your intelligence persists. Really, after all your known data points, this turn of events surprises you?"
She slowed to a halt and ducked into a nearby set of residential quarters, fortuitously empty. Part of her processes were still scanning the premises, the algorithm only slightly disturbed by the fact that the droid had expected some kind of resistance by now. The cultists that had seemed to be everywhere in the hangar were now nowhere to be seen--would the battle their master had begun have not registered, or were they elsewhere engaged? For that matter, Adelle was equally silent. The doctor had agreed to be at their disposal as support on this mission, and had split from the group only to make a brief search for the man now in her arms. The Praxeum was laid out with almost no communication dead zones; as a former Jedi hub it required an extensive network, with any holes guarded by steep security. It was unlikely that Adelle was in any of those zones, given her promise to stay within safe parameters for the mission. If she was not responding, then, it was for other reasons. The probability that the cultists were engaging her directly was not absolute, but barring more likely theories it fit the known variables. What to do, then? Leigh scanned over the digital map she had downloaded. It was decades old and several areas were blacked out, but from it she could infer the location of what was likely some sort of computer hub or old strategy center. If she went there, she'd have far superior access to the Praxeum's systems--perhaps even cameras or a monitoring system she could use to locate the Healer.
Her chosen pathway clicked with her programming, creating the pleasant sense of a decision well made with sound logic. She returned her focus to the outside world, and re-opened the door into the corridor.
"You are fortunate that your lack of faith is irrelevant," she said, with a faint twist to her voice that could have been sarcasm. "I am going to locate our Healer now. Hold fast."
She braced herself, tensing her joints, then thundered her way out the door, taking a hard left towards the blank spot in her map.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Dec 6, 2016 17:29:13 GMT -8
The hulking droid pounded through the cavernous hallways of the Yavin Praxeum at a thunderous pace, just reaching the Residential quarters as the man in her arms spoke. She rounded a corner without losing speed, her only concession to his comfort a slight adjustment in her arm. A portion of her processing powers was dedicated to the continual measurement of his vitals, particularly his alarmingly-shallow breathing. A second portion was using the same functions to a different purpose--the scanner was quite useful at locating nearby individuals, making it useful for ensuring that the Praxeum's scattered cultists remained at a safe distance. The third, largest portion of her processing power was dedicated to desperately trying to reach Adelle.
We have an urgent medical situation, she input into the comm, grateful again for the medium's lack of emotional intonation. I need your location and status NOW.
Fortunately, her upgrades to her coolant-control circuits were finally paying off. Despite her multitasking, Leigh found just enough processing power to respond to Aherk. She even turned on her hologram for it, her pretty face oddly immobile for all their speed. "I now understand," she said, her flat tone barely hiding her disdain, "why she just elected to save you. You are such an optimistic individual."
Adelle, if you are in trouble you need to inform me!
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 30, 2016 12:44:47 GMT -8
Banned for your pervy mind.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 30, 2016 12:44:20 GMT -8
DaVinci
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 28, 2016 20:17:03 GMT -8
He would not have the chance to see it. Before Rutil had had a chance to right himself, Na'an had already deactivated her shoto and thrust both hands outward, gripping the air as if it were stones. The Bellow had rumbled deep into the building's walls and floor, shaking the construction subtly but strongly; between that and the more focused shot from Leigh's cannon, the archway leading into the Grand Audience Chamber was only a good Pull away from collapsing entirely. Na'an flexed through her arms and through the Force, and that collapse became a reality. She, the droid, and the dying man they protected disappeared into a crashing of marble and dust, blocking anyone from following them into the corridor.
****
"He will follow," Leigh said, already turning to run down the corridor with long, powerful strides. "And we are running into a compound filled with his followers." The collapse of the chamber exit had bought them a few precious minutes, and neither of them had planned on wasting it, sprinting into the network of hallways connecting the Praxeum. The corridor leading into the rest of the Temple was long and winding, with multiple branches leading off into other parts of the building. While scanning for signs of life down multiple branching paths, she simultaneously downloaded as recent a map of the Yavin Praxeum as she could find. "We have several options, but this is his territory. We need to select a plan of operation, now."
"I know, I know!" Na'an rubbed dust from her eye feverishly, then ripped off her eyepatch as she followed the droid at a sprint. Her eye rolled a little, then started tracking as it returned to active use. "Look, if I have any chance against him I need a place with cover," she said, her voice still a little raw from the Bellow. "On open ground with no environment, he's got me dead to rights."
Leigh nodded. "There are gardens near the rear of the facility. Floral life and open-air construction provide strong options, and will keep you away from the bulk of his followers as you prepare to engage."
"Those Gardens are a--" Na'an stopped abruptly, forcing a breath. When she started sprinting again, she banked on a corner Leigh took easily. "Fine. Get Aherk to Adelle, I'll catch up."
Leigh's hologram snapped on, a disapproving expression hovering on the back of her dome at Na'an. "I am not comfortable leaving you to fight your teacher alone to protect this ma--"
"And hell if I'm going to be why that man dies!"
This time it was Leigh who stopped, and regarded Na'an with a careful eye.
Her friend was disheveled, but intact save for a hugely spiked heartrate and respiration. Since removing her patch, her prosthesis had turned fully active quickly, tracking only microseconds behind the organic eye. She was strong, relatively rested, and despite her obvious distress functioning quite well. It was only the feverish look in her good eye that gave Leigh cause for concern...and that was, in all likelihood, due just as much to the possibility of Aherk's death as the probability of Na'an's own. "Get him to Adelle," she said again, and her voice was steel. "Please."
Leigh quickly calculated probabilities yet again, then made her decisions. She turned towards a different branch on the next fork, going left where Na'an would go right. Her path would lead towards the Strategy Center and the Medical Bay; Na'an's, back towards the garden exit. "Go right. I will return for you," she promised, loud enough for Na'an to hear as she sprinted away. "Do not dare to die before I do."
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 26, 2016 19:21:52 GMT -8
Na'an was barely able to keep up, each strike coming harder at her than the last. Her teacher's strength had always been overwhelming; now she could feel it in the fury of every blow she blocked, shuddering up her arms through the blade. It was only the relative grace of Ataru that even let her keep a pace with the old Zabrak, each block leading fluidly into the next in comparison with his hard staccato. He was at her side--now her front--now behind her--swooping at her feet, forcing her to jump--lunging for her head, sending her spinning under his arm--then behind her again. There was no pattern to it, no logic, only the rage and the ever-strengthening power of his strikes.
The knowledge came sharply, in the way of all the worst kinds of betrayal; a stab to the heart and the brain. Na'an knew this style, had been attacked in this style before, although she had never seen it from her teacher. This was Juyo. Rutil Iorek was attacking her in Juyo.
He meant to kill her. No more conversation, no more chances. Using this form meant he wanted her to die--for her disobedience--for being a disappointment--and he would likely kill everyone else who came on this trip just to make his point.
She deflected another blow only just before it decapitated her, twisting the blade to send his arm out in a wide circle. The power and angle of the strike, however, sent her staggering back, and she suddenly realized that the course of the fight had only taken them steps from where Leigh stood in the door. Even in Ataru, then, she was on the defensive. The room was wide, spacious and sparsely decorated, giving her little to work with for the more acrobatic style. If she wanted any kind of advantage to get back on the offensive, it wouldn't be here; if anyone was going to get out of this temple alive, then, they needed to get out of this room.
Another strike came in, hard and fast; Na'an dodged it this time rather than blocking, using the split-second movement to turn and signal Leigh. Leigh processed her expression with seeming dispassion, but also with the speed Na'an had grown to rely on. She cocked her cannon arm and backed into the hall, clutching the frail body of Aherk to her chest as gently as she could. "Forty-three degrees west of north," she intoned, adjusting her aim as Na'an followed into the hallway, dodging all the way. "Prepare for debris."
Na'an nodded. They had to time this carefully; Rutil's attacks left him wide open between strikes, but only for fractions of a second. Na'an sucked in a deep breath, and felt the Force buzzing inside her, in her lungs and in her larynx. She held it just long enough to let it build, a bubble of pressure right below her heart...then opened her mouth.
"GO!"
The Force Bellow ripped out of her, shaking the stones at her feet and in the door and in the walls with all the force of a sudden tide. At the same moment Leigh fired--not at Rutil, but at the door itself, forty-three degrees west of true north.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 21, 2016 18:47:51 GMT -8
Angel
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 21, 2016 18:45:58 GMT -8
It was as if she were a youngling again, struggling against someone who knew her moves before she even made them. Na'an forced her way through the sequence, every breath in her footwork tight and painful and always, always blocked. She was always so far behind him when it came to sheer combat brilliance--but then, she'd never thought that she would ever have to face him seriously. He was larger, and stronger, and had taught her everything about Jedi bladework she had ever known. Even now, with nearly twenty years of experience between then and now, he could still send her flying with a simple flex of the Force.
It was once she was in the air, however, that she felt her chest suddenly loosen again. Na'an sucked in a gloriously deep breath, smelling smoke and spicy whiskey and a whiff of ozone, and immediately it set her blood to tingling in her veins. The Force had not abandoned her, then; she had options. She twisted as she flew towards the back of the room, reaching out for a sense of where she was in space. Rutil had planned out this move well--he was clearly planning on taking advantage of her aerial mobility, and was already bolting to make a pre-emptive attack where her feet would land.
If that was the case, it would be better if she didn't land there.
Na'an deactivated the shoto as she spun, instead choosing to thrust out her free hand outwards to her side. She felt the Force Push slam into the stone wall as clearly as if it were her hand, rather than the Force. Her forward momentum stopped sharply, the blowback from her Push rocketing her sideways towards the other wall. She somersaulted in the air to land against the wall with both feet, gripping a loose stone with her free hand to perch there. Another Push sent her blazing back towards Rutil faster than she could usually run, and she activated her shoto in time for a jab at her teacher's stomach.
"Sir, please stop!" she said, her voice echoing loudly between the clashing blades. "Torture, murder? Hiding out in a ruin? Gathering civilians for a war? This isn't sane!"
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 20, 2016 20:53:38 GMT -8
Bacon
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 18, 2016 13:45:58 GMT -8
Banned for having no chill about what Adelle puts on her tacos. Seriously, man, let her eat her tacos how she wants!
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 18, 2016 13:38:30 GMT -8
Leigh had spaced the shots out, accounting for the probability that the Zabrak would attempt to dodge out of the line of fire. As it was, Na'an had been pushed into the first of the three shots, catching her in the shoulder. She pitched forward again, slamming into the floor with a hard whumpf barely braced by her forearms.
Leigh backed off immediately, readjusting her strategy. She cursed herself inwardly for not accounting for strategic telekinesis, in the same calculation that she acknowledged the wisdom of using concussive shots instead of live fire and resolved to keep it off until she had a clear signal and a better shot-to-collateral ratio. There was also the matter of the man in her arms, for whom the sudden noise of the cannon could not be entirely healthy. Her best move at the moment was to remain near the door, remove anyone who would attempt to interfere, and wait for another shot. While she was doing those things, however, she had strategic intel to gather. She activated her audio circuits, turning them inwards to her comm channel. Miss Bastiel, you have not responded to our inquiry. Status report.
The impact of the blow to her back had driven the air from Na'an's lungs; she wheezed as she pushed herself to her feet, one deep unsteady breath before she lunged into another attack. She aimed for his legs this time, a series of quick circular swings to help her readjust and regain the fight's flow. Ataru was an aggressive form, designed to keep the opponent on the defensive with a flurry of attacks. It didn't work if she slowed down, and she had to have oxygen to fuel that kind of pace. She couldn't let a blow to her torso knock the wind from her for long, or Rutil would take brutal advantage in ways that would kill her in moments. If she could get him off guard with a fast recovery, however, even if for only a moment... Please, she begged her body, or the Force, or anything that could be listening, Breathe!
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 16, 2016 19:53:42 GMT -8
Banned for not referencing the Unreliable Narrator trope.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 16, 2016 6:48:07 GMT -8
Banned for dissing animated avatars.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 15, 2016 18:52:10 GMT -8
The wonderful thing about saber combat was that the blade, as powerful as it was, held no weight in and of itself. Na'an had learned that early on in her training years ago from Rutil himself; the weight behind normal blades would no longer control her momentum with a lightsaber, leaving her free to do as she liked with her body. The result was particularly effective the more control you had over your own movements. And for all her faults, for all her bad judgments and all her soured hopes and all her failures, there was one thing she had always had, had always found some small comfort in.
Vidalu Na'an was no Jedi, but she could rival any of them for physical control.
Na'an let the blade continue to swing, throwing her weight behind it into a forward flip. She inhaled into the flip, letting the Force pull her higher and curl her inwards into a rapid spin. She could feel the faint whoosh of air as the tip of her blade barely missed scoring the floor, suddenly grateful she had never bothered making a full-sized saber, and then she was upright again, swinging down at Rutil's head with all the power of her momentum behind her.
In the back of the room, Leigh's firing algorithms aligned suddenly. Na'an had pulled this stunt before, going high so she could clear the field below, and by now she knew her partner's timing by microseconds. "Brace," she said to Aherk, pulling him minutely closer to herself, and fired her cannon in three quick concussive bursts.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 15, 2016 10:10:21 GMT -8
Banned for single-color photography.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 14, 2016 12:00:53 GMT -8
Banned for the name "Death Angel." Seriously, dude, I reserve that title for people with PC headcounts.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 13, 2016 18:59:24 GMT -8
Rutil was on her in a flash, almost faster than thought. Without thinking herself, Na'an ignited and twisted her shoto in the same stroke. The crimson blade sliced through her pocket as easily as if it were made of tissue paper, blazing through the air to meet her opponent's weapon at her chest in a shower of blue and red sparks. "Leigh!" she grunted, focusing everything she had in her arms and her knees, willing them to stand up against the Zabrak's superior weight. "DO IT!"
Leigh spared no time for emotion or for analysis; this was one of multiple scenarios she had already accounted for in her preparatory calculations. She barreled ahead, diverting power from non-essential systems into her weaponry, arm cannon already charging up for a middling-power shot. Her priority, though, would be clearing the room of blockades and collateral damage, and for the moment that meant Aherk. She knelt to scoop him up in her good arm, noting that his shrunken state was more than just visual--he had lost considerable weight. "Hold on to me," she ordered, and backed off immediately, already aiming for a clear shot at Rutil's center mass. All she had to do was get the right angle...
It was quickly obvious that just holding the lock forever would be impossible. Rutil had the strength advantage, and both of them knew it. Na'an had to break it, and break it her way fast. She had lower ground to work with, and years of practice operating under a height disadvantage. Rather than maintain the lock, she slid into Rutil's space and angled her blade up, throwing his arm into the air and both their blades free. Almost in the same motion she swung down at his shoulder, aiming for a clean slice at his arm.
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Post by Vidalu Na'an on Nov 13, 2016 17:59:35 GMT -8
"Do you think so? You are free to try."
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