Corr
Member
You can lead a fool to knowledge but you can't make him think.
Posts: 940 
Affiliation: Clan Vhett
Traffic Light: Orange
|
Post by Corr on Aug 9, 2013 2:02:08 GMT -8
And here we have it! The culmination of hard word, blood and tears. The final round of the tournament find our two combatants in the premiere arena of the GBA. Where else could it have been? The Circle of Champions! A large circular pit that is approximately 50 yards in diameter, surrounded by a 20 foot tall stone wall. In the pit itself, there is a hardened beskar grate known as the 'Blood Sink' and surrounding the grate are pillars of duracrete, each are 15 feet from the rim of the grate and 8 feet apart from one another. Apart from the grate, the floor of the arena is composed of sand and gravel. The walls and floor are covered in brown marks from the fallen. There are two entrances to the pit, one on each side, meant for the entry of the combatants. Over the gates, a sign hangs, reminding the warriors of what they face. Each sign is different today, a variation of the usual message, a personal statement to each fighter.
There they wait, gazing up at the sign, preparing themselves for the fight to come. Adieumus Matango, having battled his way past the likes of GBA newcomer Caoimhin Shan and savage mercenary Bloodshot to earn his place in the final, stands ready to meet his destiny, his trademark hairstyle meticulously groomed with not a strand out of place. Ashrah Intalbo, stoic in his customary armour, seeming almost indifferent to the trials to come, confident in his ability to lay waste any that are foolish enough to get in his way.
The crowd becomes garrulous in their anticipation as the massive clock over the arena floor ticks down methodically. Bets are placed, outcomes predicted, holocams made ready...
A hush falls over the arena as the clock ticks down to eleven then the chants begin...
Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven... Six... Five... Four...
Three...
The lights dim in the antechambers within which the two fighter wait.
Two...
The doors begin to grind open on well lubed hinges.
One...
The combatants are released into the arena, finally able to see each other across the fifty yard expanse of dust, beskar grate and the woe of the fallen. One word is bellowed over the mic, accompanied by the roar of the crowd.
FIGHT!
|
|
Adi
Crew of the Wayward Son
Posts: 1,108
Affiliation: Crew of the Wayward Son
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Adi on Aug 9, 2013 17:15:46 GMT -8
Well...this was quite the opportunity, now wasn't it?
Adieumus had been quite literally -waiting- for this chance. He was facing none other than Ashrah Intalbo, Manda'lor Extraordinaire...the very man who had so brutally murdered Dace Concordia. The one who had destroyed the Jedi Temple on Honoghr, and killed several of the Jedi there. Dace had been a guiding force in Adieumus' life, someone that the Arkanian Jedi Master had looked up to for a very long time, and Ashrah had killed him in cold blood...beheaded him....
...with a weapon created in the labs at Adieumus' very own HNAC Inc.
When he had heard that his opponent would be the vaunted leader of the Mandalorians, he had nearly crapped his pants in elation. Here would be a chance to show that the force users of the galaxy would not bow before the Mandalorian war machine, that they would not silently fall before the buckethead onslaught like lambs to the slaughter. No, Ashla would not allow her children to be destroyed like they had been so many years ago. This man was no Emperor Palpatine. Hell, he wasn't even a Vader. He was just a man in a monkey suit, with good hardware. Today, he had brought just one weapon...his black hilted, orange bladed lightsaber.
It was all he ever needed, if he needed any weapon at all.
Giving a final light kick to the ground with the toe of his gray-on-white Air Force One low top sneakers, he tugged the fastening straps of his bracers, and pulled his phrik gloves tight to his hands. He was wearing a tan hooded vest, woven with the same material as was in his soft sided gloves in the vital areas, back and front. Emblazoned on the left chest area, about the size of a space-baseball, was the symbol of the Jedi Watch Lead. Underneath the vest was a black t-shirt, as per the usual. However, the tshirt read something different this time....it wasn't a goofy saying, or a silly phrase. For now, what it said was not visible, but it would be soon enough. His black cargo pants, once needed to hold the gear and tech capsules he so liked to carry, were now worn simply out of habit. He hadn't needed to use the pockets to hold anything but his ganja and lighter as of late.
This day he had foregone the pre-game warmup, however. He needed his mind and body one hundred percent perfect.
A deep breath, an exhale, and a step forward into the arena, and the spectators exploded into a frenzy. Adi, though, didn't hear them. He was focused, staring at the other door, hoping that his opponent was stepping out at the same time. The tide of the force ebbed within the Jedi, flowing around him. He made no attempt to hide it, either. He knew from viewing the security holovids from the destruction of the Jedi Temple on Honoghr, resulting in the death of Master Shar-Jinn. He had watched the grainy footage from the battle on Yavin IV, and he had also watched how the force powers used against Ashrah directly seemed to be barely effective...if at all. Somehow, either through tech or natural abilities, the Mandalor seemed like he was immune to the force.
Matango would keep it in mind. For now, he just stared at the doors across the arena, and prepared for a hell of a fight.
|
|
Ashrah
The Mandalorian Assembly
Posts: 329
Affiliation: Mandalorians
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Ashrah on Aug 11, 2013 8:59:25 GMT -8
He stood directly outside the gate that would give him entrance to the Circle of Champions. He noted the words above the door, written in mando'a, but translated here because I am too lazy to look them up. 'His weakness is his hair'. Ashrah chuckled. Corr. It had to be. He nodded once and the door swung open. The crowd, minutes ago in a frenzy at Adi's entrance, the leader of the Jedi watch, in a Mando arena, was now deathly silent at the entrance of Mand'alor te Aru'shevshaadla. He stood in his black beskar'gam, his blade on his back in it's custom sheath, Kad'marev mag-locked on his back next to the blade, the grip by his lower back. Around his left arm was wrapped his infamous chain, the handle held in his left hand.
Adieumus Matango. Prince of Arkania. Once Darksider, now Watch Leader. Hair perfect as usual. That irritated Ashrah. This was a fight, not a fashion show. Adi was a Forcie, and by that very definition was marked for death by the Mandalorian forces. There would be no escape. No quarter. He had a feeling that the man was rather upset with him over the death of Dace Concordia, and frankly, he didn't give a gundarks ass. Daceniquitous was a Forcie. Now he was a dead Forcie. Ashrah stood there and eyed Adi from across the circle, not saying anything, not doing anything. He waited like this for what felt like hours, but was in actuality a minute or so. He began a walk towards his opponent, spinning the handle in his left hand, having unraveled about 2 feet of chain. He kept his right hand empty for the time being. He knew Adi would have some kind of trick ready to go. The Jedi was talented and crafty......It was time to get this shit started......
|
|
Adi
Crew of the Wayward Son
Posts: 1,108
Affiliation: Crew of the Wayward Son
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Adi on Aug 12, 2013 17:43:48 GMT -8
The buckethead wasn't moving yet. Good.
Adi had plenty of time to walk to the middle of the arena, time to survey his surroundings. He looked at the pillars, lovingly running his hands along their surface...at least the two he walked past. He could feel the finely porous surface of the first one he touched, at first appearing to be totally smooth. Upon further examination, the imperfections were very apparent. It was like that with many things in the universe...what first appeared flawless was actually quite different up close. The Jedi could feel the pain from a thousand deaths upon touching the first pillar he came to...and a thousand more in its neighbor on Adi's 'side' of the grate when he moved over to it, and repeated the action from the first pillar. He bowed his head in reverence for the fallen, both past and present. He was, however, careful to keep an eye on the man in the black armor across the way. The brown stains of blood carelessly left in the pores of the concrete were reminders that this was a place of endless sacrifice made in the name of entertaining the masses. This wholesale slaughter of precious life mirrored the life outside of the arena as well, in fact....but Adi had plans to stem that here and now.
There would be another life placed on the altar again this day...Either the Mandalor's, or Adi's own. There was no 'saving' Ashrah. There was no more room, no time, for negotiations anymore. This was a rare case where there was but one choice...One Ashrah had made for himself when he had declared war upon the Force. The Arkanian knew well that the crafty leader of the Mandalorians wasn't here for a tea party...he was here to kill him...but so had so many others before him....
...Adi was still here, though, wasn't he?
The force was all around the Jedi as he moved around near the center of the circle. He neared the grate, and looked down into it. The hole looked like it went down forever. Due to the silence of the arena, Matango could hear water dripping beneath....and he grinned. The force protected him, poured out of every little crack, crevice, nook, and cranny in the arena...indeed, it poured out from the entire galaxy. Ashla had given her ultimate blessing, and was bestowing every ounce of her formidable power to her son. Adieumus could feel the tide rolling in, knowing that the Mandalorian stalking toward him, holding his little ball, knew nothing of what was going on around the Jedi Master. Matango made no move yet, there was no need. There would be time for action soon enough. For now, he would take advantage of the minute or so he had been given to continue to gather his Mother's love around him, and grow stronger in her light.
Besides....It was too early in the day yet for killing kings.
|
|
Ashrah
The Mandalorian Assembly
Posts: 329
Affiliation: Mandalorians
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Ashrah on Aug 13, 2013 6:51:16 GMT -8
Ashrah waited. Adi was looking in the Blood Sink. How fitting. In the blink of an eye Kad'marev came free, and the silence of the Arena was interrupted by the deafening bark of the shot gun. His left hand let go the handle and shot up, reloading the weapon. He fired again. Pumped. Fired. The weapon was then replaced on his back and his blade was drawn and he was moving, running after the slugs towards the Jedi Watch Lead. He whipped his left arm up and the handle swung, slapping into his palm. He didn't honestly think the shot gun blasts would hit Adi. Jedi always seemed to have a way around getting blasted into so much pudding, but it served as a distraction.....
|
|
Adi
Crew of the Wayward Son
Posts: 1,108
Affiliation: Crew of the Wayward Son
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Adi on Aug 13, 2013 21:35:17 GMT -8
Click.
Adi was looking into the blood sink, still fully, totally, and completely immersed in the force. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and a wee bit of motion caught his eye. Whatever it was that Ashrah was up to, it wasn't good. Without force powers, there were about two things the big, bad, black-clad beast was going to do...throw or shoot something at Matango. There was one option to be had at that juncture.
Barrier. Fast.
Matango's eyes flew open wide as Ashrah drew down and pulled the trigger. The force flowed out in front of him, angling to the right, and the first slug hit....right at face height. Smiling as the round deflected off to his right, he dropped the barrier. He stepped left, and back, behind a pillar. Assuming Ashrah was a competent enough gunman to try to track the Jedi as he moved, the second round zipped by Matango, nicking his right arm as it went by. The third round struck the pillar just as Adi made it behind.
Sheer luck, pretty much, but the Jedi had escaped, albeit not totally unscathed. Now, the man was charging. While he had a blade out. AND he was in full armor....and Adi was backing up in hops, trying to stay out of reach of the man for just a few more moments....he needed time, that was all....and he didn't need much. Things were already falling into place, but he had to keep moving, had to stay out of reach for now. He could keep him guessing for a while, at least he hoped.
The force continued to pour outward from Adieumus, connecting with the energy pouring out of the very arena itself. It was uplifting, and it filled the Arkanian with confidence. He knew that he could do this...prove that no matter how powerful the Mandalorians were...no matter how thick and impenetrable their armor may appear...there were always imperfections....cracks.
They just had to be found and exploited.
|
|
Ashrah
The Mandalorian Assembly
Posts: 329
Affiliation: Mandalorians
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Ashrah on Aug 14, 2013 5:52:07 GMT -8
Duracrete exploded in chunks as the slug was buried. Adi was up to something. Something....Nefarious. And even if our writer had a pretty good idea what it was, Ashrah did not. He just knew it was time to cut a Jedi. A lot. The distance closed quickly, and suddenly Ashrah was at the pillar Adi was behind. He slowed, moving slowly now, and as silently as his armour would allow. Which was surprisingly quiet. He stalked like a hunting cat. If a Hunting cat was encased in Beskar and could stab you in the face with a sword
Come out little Prince so that I can jam my beskad through your heart. As I did to that Concordia Fella. Maybe I will stop killing Forcies and just continue killing Arkanians. What do you think?
He was going to his left around the pillar, stalking slowly, following the Jedi as he hopped backwards. Adi would either continue to keep moving backwards, or he would step up and either fight like a man, or fight like a Force User. Ashrah didn't care either way. This was nothing more than a mission. A job to complete. Everything else was secondary...
|
|
Adi
Crew of the Wayward Son
Posts: 1,108
Affiliation: Crew of the Wayward Son
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Adi on Aug 14, 2013 16:44:03 GMT -8
He was trying to goad Adi into making a mistake in anger. That wasn't going to happen with a simple insult such as that. Besides, it wasn't like the man was going to make it past -here- anyway. Adi just needed a few more seconds to pull it off. Until then, he had to stay with his game plan.
This man wasn't even worth wasting words on, though.
By the time that Ashrah had come around the pillar, Adi was about 7-8 meters away, and moving backward quickly. He was not using force speed, though...he needed to keep as much focus as he could on his primary target. His eyes appeared to never leave Ashrah, always keeping the man in view, along with the surroundings around the advancing Mando. The force continued to swirl around the Jedi, seemingly concentrating on one point in his core, and pouring forth in waves just as rapidly. Blood was running down his arm from the creasing the slug had given him earlier....perhaps it was time to figure out how to put a little armor in his t-shirts.....he was coming up against more and more that used slugthrowers of some kind, and one just couldn't use barrier all the time. Still though, the graze hurt like a bitch, like someone had laid a hot iron across the outside edge of Adi's upper arm. Gritting his teeth, he continued to move backward as rapidly as his feet could hop backward, pushing the pain out as much as he could.
In his mind, Adi spoke the words his mouth refused to utter.
"Just a little while longer, Black Knight. You have sealed your own fate, by wrapping yourself up nice and neat in a suit of metal. It will make a fine vessel in which to bury you."
|
|
Ashrah
The Mandalorian Assembly
Posts: 329
Affiliation: Mandalorians
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Ashrah on Aug 14, 2013 17:24:29 GMT -8
He cleared the Pillar and the blade was replaced on his back and the shotgun clear of the mag lock in one fluid motion. It took less than a second and the gun barked twice, pointed directly at Adi's chest, then his face. The jedi was concentrating on something big, and Ashrah couldn't let that happen. His HUD allowed for the perfect aim his eyes couldn't. His reflexes allowed for the smooth and fast shot, his irritation at Force users allowed for his Not Giving a Shit. It was the Perfect move. Executed with precision and poise.
|
|
Adi
Crew of the Wayward Son
Posts: 1,108
Affiliation: Crew of the Wayward Son
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Adi on Aug 14, 2013 18:54:52 GMT -8
It was all too perfect.
This entire fight had been a plethora of shatterpoints....events leading to an inevitable conclusion. Ashrah himself was a shatterpoint...the focal point of a Mandalorian holy war hell bent on destroying all force users. Adi was a shatterpoint -for- the Jedi...someone that could stem the tide of the bucketheads. The arena, the crowd, everything fell into place as it had to leading up to this very moment in time. Ashrah was slinking around the pillar, and just coming into view.
But this was the very moment Adieumus had been waiting for.
Adi planted his right foot arresting his backward hop, and released the massive amount of power surrounding him directly at the base of the pillar he had taken cover behind.. It was not, however, a wave, or a repulse, or anything else of the sort. Indeed, that would have been beyond stupid, knowing what Adi knew about Ashrah. No, what he did was something that would bypass armor, force resistance, even iron will. He had been preparing it since the inception of the duel, having more than ample time to look, touch, feel, and pour force into every crack and crevice in the areas that he had been in. He had made contact with the floor, the pillars, even the blood sink....and he was trying to drop it into the abyss below, with Ashrah as its passenger on its ride to hell.
He used the convergence of the many lines of fate leading to the very pillar Ashrah Intalbo was standing beside holding that accursed shotgun....and shattered them. A massive burst of telekinetic energy surged from within Adi, blasting at the ground under the Mandalor, crushing it, grinding it into a roiling mass of debris. His left hand snapped open, followed by his right, surging more into the attack, giving almost everything he could to accelerate the event.
A thirty foot circle of duracrete surrounding the pillar would give way, and drop into the deep sewer below, hopefully dumping Ashrah, his CNT blade, and that damn gun into the hole, subsequently burying him alive under the shattered rubble. It would take less than a second to get underway, and if all went as planned, the shotgun would not even get a chance to bark again, or at least not in Adi's direction if the floor was falling out from under the Mandalor. It would be an avalanche of stone and sand...a wave of near-liquefied ground under the man in the span of a second as he came around the pillar. Even if he was exceptionally fast, it would be difficult to avoid....but if he -did- manage to get out, Adi might be in a bit of trouble. This was putting a lot of his eggs in one basket, a one time shot at the title, so to speak.
But, if it -would- by some miracle bury Ashrah? It would be kinda nice....
|
|
Ashrah
The Mandalorian Assembly
Posts: 329
Affiliation: Mandalorians
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Ashrah on Aug 15, 2013 6:00:49 GMT -8
Ashrah cleared the pillar, shotgun coming around (as stated before), and Adi released the power her had built. Kad'marev barked once, then twice, chest, then face. If everything went as planned, the slugs would punch through the Jedi's chest then face, turning the Watchmen Lead into pudding and spaghetti, and stopping the Jedi from ruining Circle of Champions. THe ground was making terrible noises and shuddering as the power was being ripped through it. This looked like Shatterpoint, but couldn't be. Shatter point didn't work like that. Not that it mattered. Once the slugs (theoretically) punched through the Jedi, the rumbling would stop. Ashrah may not use the Force, but he was well versed in it's use and the end product. He knew that once the focus was gone, so was the annoying ability to manipulate matter.
He bent his legs to do 2 things. To give himself a little stability, and to prepare for a massive leap. He couldn't force jump, and he couldn't jump as high in his armour, but he could still leap pretty good, and if the ground was going to collapse under him, he wanted to be in the air when it did......
|
|
Adi
Crew of the Wayward Son
Posts: 1,108
Affiliation: Crew of the Wayward Son
Traffic Light: Green
|
Post by Adi on Aug 15, 2013 7:21:18 GMT -8
The slug punches through Adi's chest as Ashrah has planned, breaking his concentration, and killing him instantly. The floor doesnt even have a chance to move, so it does not collapse. The Jedi slumps to the floor dead.
|
|
Ashrah
The Mandalorian Assembly
Posts: 329
Affiliation: Mandalorians
Traffic Light: Blue
|
Post by Ashrah on Aug 15, 2013 8:01:41 GMT -8
Ashrah stood, the rumbling and shaking stopping. His second shot had gone completely off target due to the ground moving about under his feet. He eyed the pillar that was close enough to fall on him sideways, daring the thing to fall on him. He moved towards Adi's body, the shotgun being re-slung to his back as he moved. The crowd was still silent. He bent down and lifted the Jedi Master in his arms and continued walking out the gate the man had entered. He may be an enemy, but he was an enemy that fought as hard as he could to try and take out the Mand'alor who was sweeping the Galaxy. He tried to put an end to the Nightmare that was Ashrah and the Mandalorian Empire. He had failed. But that did not mean he didn't deserve respect......
As he stepped out of the Circle of Champions, cries of Mand'alor echoed through the air, interspersed with OYA! The Jedi had balls of Beskar to fight Ashrah on his home turf. He would send the body back to the Jedi. And not in pieces as he usually would have done.
|
|
Corr
Member
You can lead a fool to knowledge but you can't make him think.
Posts: 940
Affiliation: Clan Vhett
Traffic Light: Orange
|
Post by Corr on Aug 21, 2013 12:40:34 GMT -8
Okay... I'm not going to bandy it around or over analyse this.
Ashrah goes through due to Adi's death.
Bit of a shame and perhaps Ashrah's post cut was in poor form. Still, its the GBA and its competitive writing. To be ruthless is to progress and, though we'd like to see more of a duel than what was here, Ashrah's post cut was completely legal and valid both IC and OOC. Adi, though you built your power up and write everything admirably, you should avoid leaving yourself open to such an action in the future. Don't expect favours from writers in a tourney match, even if they're friends. There are no allies in a GBA tourney.
Both wrote well and are premier duelists. Perhaps we'd like to see them go at it again with more of a showing next time? Can I get a hell yeah?
|
|
Corr Vhett - puts the "Laughter" in "Manslaughter"..... 
