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Post by Whill Shaman Erevis on Dec 19, 2020 11:56:02 GMT -8
Tatooine. Because everyone loves sand. Out in the Dune Sea. As the Sun goes down. Because as much as everyone loves Sand, no one needs to love sand when it is meltingly hot out.
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Kaine Australis
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Post by Kaine Australis on Dec 19, 2020 18:34:57 GMT -8
Kaine stood on the dune looking out over the wide expanse of sand and not much else. Jawas and Tuskens, he supposed, but he couldn't see any just now. Banthas and other things lived in the desert too, but none were apparent. Just sand. It wasn't stifling hot with the twin suns low on the horizon, but Kaine was still glad of the climate control in his beskar'gam.
He'd come outfitted for dueling, a pistol on each hip, with his assortment of melee weapons at the ready. Shuk'la Skira, his axe, was at his belt. Boomer, the beskar boomerang drone was in its sheath. An ancient lightsaber hilt hung from a belt hook. Beskar plates painted with the black and green of Clan Australis over an armorweave undersuit with thinsuit beneath made up the Alor's protective kit.
The beskar'gam contained many gadgets and useful bits of tech, tuned and updated over Kaine's many years of combat. Sixty years old, the old boar was good at not getting dead, he had to admit to himself, having made it this far in a young man's profession. It had been a long time since he'd entered any tournament, but the Memorial Tournament wasn't an invitation he could turn down.
Silently, Kaine kept his vigil over the endless sands, awaiting his opponent.Faust Skirata |
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Faust Skirata
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Post by Faust Skirata on Dec 23, 2020 13:45:20 GMT -8
The arrival of Kad'veman was heralded only by the whine of an engine and an approaching cloud of sand. He parked at the foot of the dune, killing his speeder bike and stepping off in one motion. For a moment he was still, content to gaze up at the armored silhouette awaiting him.
Kaine Australis. A storied warrior who had led armies to victory before the priest's birth. Where he had been since the ruinous end of Ashrah's Crusade, it was impossible to say. Nor did the answer to that question interest him in the slightest. Kaine was here now, ready to partake in the mortal art beneath the Destroyer's watchful eye, and that was good enough.
Faust began a slow, deliberate trudge to the dune's peak, each footstep measured so he could study the effects of foot placement and weight distribution. The sand, so eager to part beneath his boots, clutched them hungrily when they attempted to rise again. Despite his light armor- a simple hauberk of beskar ringmail- the shifting terrain was treacherous.
The priest hummed as he walked, an old battle hymn, laced with murmured prayers and words of thanks for what was to come. Faust had come to worship the Destroyer, and carried his instruments of praise with him: sheathed on his left hip was his sacrificial dirk, and below that, riding low on his thigh, was his Ripper; the Grimhammer was slung across his back, the wooden shaft sticking up over his right shoulder. Next to it was the hilt of his beskad.
His armor, in sharp contrast to his foe's, was fairly spartan. A ringmail shirt, crushgaunts, helm, and boots. A simple chain of beskar was tied loosely around his waist- the mark of a priest. A wrist laser was built into his right gauntlet, a projected energy shield into the left.
Simple, yet all he had ever needed to perform his rites of worship.
If uninterrupted, Faust Skirata would crest the dune a dozen paces from where Kaine stood, with the setting sun at his back. Not that it mattered- his buy'ce automatically compensated for nearly any conditions; he was sure the aliit'alor's did as well.
Again the priest paused, savoring the moment. Once they began, it would likely be over all too quickly.
Looming violence swelled in the air, mimicking the rapturous exultation blooming in the priest's chest. His left hand fell down to rest lazily on the grip of his pistol. "Jate'kara, ner tat."
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Kaine Australis
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Post by Kaine Australis on Dec 24, 2020 0:33:44 GMT -8
Kaine's vigil came to an end as he saw the being that could only be his opponent approaching, up the dune. The Australis Alor waited for Faust to clamber up to the top before turning to face him. The setting suns cast a pair of long shadows from each of the Mando'ade.
A practiced pair of eyes roamed over Faust, taking in height and assessing weight, armaments, stance, threat. Kaine could almost sense the barely contained violence he would expect from an experienced warrior and fellow Mando'ad."Jate'kara, ner tat." Kaine nodded. Jat'ca'nara, vod. They were here to compete in the martial tradition, for the honour of a fallen great, and the amusement and viewing pleasure of an undeserving galaxy. In history past, Mandalorians and others had competed in the Great Hunt. Today, it was the Memorial Tournament.
Kaine's own right hand was on his own trusty pistol. He didn't draw out the moment beyond a second, knowing his opponent and himself were as ready as they were going to be; that both lived for combat in their own way. Kaine wasn't going to take any chances, showing his opponent the full respect he would show to any true master. There were no scrubs in this tournament, each had made their own legend in a galaxy of them. No chances taken, no quarter given, no risk. Win. Kaine emptied his mind of respect, thought and all extraneous information, and focused on defeating what was before him, as he had done on a thousand battlefields.The black and green armoured Alor drew, fully expecting that his opponent would be as fast or faster on the draw than he was. The FWG-5 was in his hand and firing as soon as it cleared leather, Kaine didn't need to bother to wait until the pistol came up all the way before firing. The Smart Pistol's rounds would go where they were sent.
Kaine fired twice, sending out a pair of flechette-filled pellets that featured a miniature laser tracking system that tagged targets with an electronic homing signature downrange at Faust's midsection. The weapon's pellets were able to track and follow a target's movements, and make a course correction while in flight. Upon reaching a range of three meters from the target, the pellet would explode and blast out twelve millimeter long micro flechettes like a shotgun. The hail of flechettes would be propelled forward by the pellets momentum, spreading out to the radius of a meter or so to puncture and strike a target, potentially with enough force to pierce armor.Kaine moved in behind his rounds, boots hammering into soft sand, closing the distance between them.Faust Skirata
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Faust Skirata
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Post by Faust Skirata on Dec 29, 2020 12:43:43 GMT -8
He barely heard Kaine's reply, more mumbled prayers already flowing from his flayed lips in an unbroken stream. The old aliit'alor had his right hand resting atop his own pistol, a mirrored image, and with the twin suns rapidly setting and painting the sky red, Faust imagined it was quite the dramatic scene.
Vore ner'dinui, Kad.
A familiar hand fell upon his right shoulder, long fingers giving a squeeze.
'Now.'
They drew simultaneously, and Kaine's expectations prove correct: Faust Skirata is lightning fast. The Ripper clears leather first, but does not fire immediately. The priest is multi-tasking, pivoting to the right to present Kaine with his profile. Simultaneously he shoots a glance at the upper corner of his HUD. Instantly, a sheathe of purple energy springs from his Mandalorian melee shield and coats his body.
Despite the delay, Kaine is only now firing his first shot. A laser tracker requires line of sight, after all, and so regardless of how much tech is packed into his pistol, the initial action required to fire an accurate shot is the same.
Faust fired between Kaine's first and second shot, the Ripper spitting a magnetically accelerated slug directly toward the intersection of Kaine's t-shaped viewplate.
And then the first pellet exploded, peppering Faust's shield with a trio of flechettes while the rest splashed ineffectually in all directions.
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Post by Kaine Australis on Dec 29, 2020 18:50:09 GMT -8
Kaine's instincts had been dead on; Faust was fast as buggery on the draw. He saw instantly that he had been the slower of the two as Faust's own weapon appeared in his hand, even as the Mando'ad pivoted. The energy shield came up seamlessly, in a damn near perfect synchronicity Kaine had to admire. Mind on the battle, he reminded himself. Admiring your opponent would get you killed.
Indeed, that almost happened, ending the fight barely as it had begun, as Faust's round struck Kaine in the buy'ce. The impact with the beskar shed some of the terrible velocity and deflected the slug, just enough to keep the Old Boar alive. The deformed round, still travelling at high speed, split the inner lining of the helmet and carved across Kaine's head before ending its journey against the inner metal of the back of the helmet, lodging itself there. There was pain, and probably a minor concussion too, but charging into battle, it felt to the adrenaline fueled Alor like a distant touch. He knew he'd been hit, but could tell it wasn't bad. Head wounds generally got you dead.
The flechettes had absolute ass-all effect, that was plain. Fortunately for Kaine, the FWG-5 had an alternate fire mode. Staggered from the impact, but still in motion toward Faust, Kaine flicked the selector to energy blasts, and fired one aimed shot at Faust's leading leg as he stumbled. Focusing on the shot and not worrying about landing was a trick old soldiers learned to stay alive. You could recover from a bump, sometimes getting the shot in counted for more.The distance had closed, and soon enough he would be within striking range; as Faust would be within range of Kaine...Faust Skirata
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Post by Faust Skirata on Dec 30, 2020 20:50:08 GMT -8
The shekemyc observed impassively as Kaine staggered, but continued to move forward. At this distance he could clearly see the hole in the old general's faceplate. Struck true, then, yet not fatal. Perhaps impact with the curved surface had deflected the slug enough to spare Kaine's life.
'Pity.'
In the same instant that Kaine stumbled, Faust exploded into forward motion, kicking hard off of his left foot, shoulders hunching as his hips swiveled to orient toward his quarry. His left hand, however, never wavered off target, and as a burning heat passed unimpeded through his melee shield to trace a charred, blistering line across the outside edge of his left thigh, Faust fired twice more. This time he sent the slugs smashing toward Kaine's center mass, looking to crack bone and destroy momentum.
All of this, in the time it took the Prophet's right foot to rise, then fall once more. As the heel of his boot pounded into the sand, the fingers of his right hand closed tight around the Grimhammer's haft, yanking it free and sending it down in a diagonal arc toward Kaine's left shoulder in one singular motion.
And the hymn of the Destroyer reaches its crescendo.
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Post by Kaine Australis on Dec 30, 2020 22:28:55 GMT -8
The distance had closed, and soon enough the two Mando'ade were within striking range...
Kaine stumbled with impact, and Faust came on, almost a blur of motion he was so fast. Faust's weapon was still pointed his way, and Kaine realised to recover and continue his charge would be a crap idea. So he didn't do that.
Instead he let himself drop, hit the sand, hard, and rolled. He was rewarded by hearing the supersonic slugs slam into the sand instead of his good self.
He'd lost his pistol in the roll, probably half buried in the shabla Tatooine sands somewhere for the Jawas to find. Osik, he loved that damned pistol. He was not without other weapons, however, and practiced hands found ample tools for the killing work.
Faust was on Kaine long before the Australis Alor was able to rise. The hammer was coming down. Having rolled to his back, almost idly, Kaine yeeted Boomer away from his left hand, the beskar boomerang spinning to life as it flew. Shuk'la Skira was in his right hand.
The hammer fell and caught Kaine on the left shoulder as Kaine's right arm swung the axe's monomolecular sharpened beskar bite upward to catch Faust at the left knee joint.
The hammer hit hard, and it hurt, pulverizing the left side of Kaine's chest, feeling like it was stove in, though likely it only shattered his left shoulder and probably his collarbone. There was pain.
Oh, let's not get hit with that again. Kaine thought to himself. That wasn't fun.
Boomer was already arcing back, controlled by its own drone-like propulsion and navigation systems, guided by Kaine's HUD, its parabolic arc would bring its spinning double edged beskar blades back towards the back of Faust's neck. Let's see how good your shabla shields really are, ner vod. Kaine decided. It was time to try and end this.
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Faust Skirata
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Post by Faust Skirata on Jan 4, 2021 15:08:48 GMT -8
Kaine's haphazard roll carried him safely beneath the pair of slugs...and, amusingly, flat onto his back at the priest's feet. Standing over the broken body of a defeated foe was a familiar position for Faust, but as Kaine sent his boomerang arcing into the air, it was clear his work wasn't done: the general planned to fight on until his last breath, no matter how futile. For that, Faust gave thanks to Kad.
In the end Kaine's maneuver brought about only one change: Faust's lunging forward stomp, rather than connecting with sand, was set to smash onto the general's left ankle, with the priest's full weight and the momentum of his swing driving it. Bearing down over his victim brought the falling boomerang into his 360o HUD's line of sight, allowing him to watch all three events as they unfolded simultaneously: the boomerang's descent began in earnest, set to collide with his neck in mere moments; Kaine's axe connected with Faust's melee shield, the vibrating blade shunting to the side and bouncing away, leaving an ivory wound in its wake that instantaneously collapsed his shield; and, in perfect synchrony, the Grimhammer connected with beskar, the shockwave generator roaring as it flattened Kaine back down against the sand.
Such tumultuous chaos has long been the catalyst for Great Change, and through it all the priest felt his heart beating to a fever pitch of ecstacy and bloodlust. The hand on his shoulder was tight, now, white-knuckled, and he could feel the Destroyer's teeth gnashing at his ear.
Almost casually, he fired the Ripper one last time, aiming for Kaine's visor but not caring if it penetrated the helm or just knocked the Sithspit out of him. Then he released the pistol and let it fall to the sand.
The priest pitched himself forward, teeth grinding as fiery agony trembled through his left leg, his right heel grinding against Kaine's ankle as he fell atop his foe, aiming to land his left knee atop the man's right arm, just below the shoulder.
The boomerang clipped the top of his helm on the way down, knocking him forward hard enough that the chin of his buyce clanked against his chest and his neck cranked painfully. Ears ringing, he shot his left hand out to catch himself- his palm slamming into the aliitalor's faceplate to arrest his momentum, if he had his way.
Unless Kaine managed to worm his way free, this would leave the priest straddling his midsection, with his left knee pinning down the general's right arm, his right foot planted in the sand beside his left hip, and his left hand keeping Kaine's head pressed firmly into the sand.
"Got you," he snarled through split lips and a mouth full of blood, and lifted the Grimhammer out to the side.
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Kaine Australis
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Post by Kaine Australis on Jan 6, 2021 8:08:01 GMT -8
The pain was intense, and Kaine wanted to yell out, but he couldn't. He was in some deep osik as he saw his death approaching almost infintesimally slowly, but he knew he was microseconds from it in truth; Combat had a way of messing with your perception of time, he knew from long experience. His ankle felt the impact of a stomp that half-connected, and damn near broke the thing, though still bruising it and causing pain. A fine counterpoint to the crushing burning in his left shoulder.
The barrel of the Ripper appeared massive as it came towards his head. Kaine couldn't let that happen. AWAY! He commanded. The thrusters on his boots, activated by the shouted vocal command, fired; and took Kaine away from death. The thruster blast moved Kaine fast enough to dodge living beings, not weapon blasts. It did not help him dodge the bolt, which caught him in the midsection, mercifully on the plates, but felt like a Gundark kick to the guts. As Kaine's boomerang impacted with the back of Faust's buy'ce, Kaine was sliding on his back, at speed, out from under his opponent, pursued by a cloud of sand and dust thrown up by the heat blast of his boots, a fiery speedworm blasting its way across the sand, until they cut out and Kaine slid to a halt meters away in a pile of sand.
Boomer arced away again on a blink command, sweeping back and forth in a distracting fashion, darting in and out as it flew at a couple meters distance behind Faust, keeping him between itself and Kaine. Kaine called that mode 'Pain in the shebs mode' where the device was programmed to be irritating, but not deadly, unless commanded to attack directly.
Faust was before him, hammer in hand, assuming he didn't fire, Kaine would have just the time and space to get to his feet, one arm basically useless now. The pain in his side, and his shoulder a warning that he wasn't in full fighting condition. Fine, shab this, Kaine thought, he didn't want to try lifting his left arm anyway.
Right handed, Kaine shoved the axe handle back into his belt, reached to the belt hook, drew the black bladed lightsaber with the ancient looking hilt, and lit it.Not yet you don't. Kaine growled. He was wounded, but not dead yet.Faust Skirata
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Faust Skirata
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Post by Faust Skirata on Jan 8, 2021 6:56:05 GMT -8
The priest's left hand slammed down, fingers scrabbling for a purchase on his fleeing quarry. Too late; Kaine slipped out of his grasp, leaving him kneeling in the sand, empty handed. 'Too slow,' he chided himself. 'And too greedy.' Behind the expressionless mask of his buy'ce, a rueful smile bowed flayed, bleeding lips.
He straightened, rising from the sand, and started forward with long, determined strides. Pain shot up his left leg with every step, white hot and angry, but it held his weight. The blast of heat had burned deep into the meat of his thigh, just a few inches above his knee, but the wound was cauterized, and Kad'veman, he who celebrated in offering his pain to the Destroyer, put it out of his mind.
With a flick of his wrist and a roll of his armored fingers, Faust choked his grip on the Grimhammer, so that he held it only ten inches below its devastating head. His left hand yanked his ceremonial dirk from its sheath in a reverse grip.
Behind him, the boomerang flitted back and forth, passing through his HUD's sight seemingly at random. He took note of it, more concerned with its ability to foul his momentum than any injury it might cause him.
Also of note to the priest was Kaine's dismissal of his axe in favor of a lightsaber, of all things. The obsidian blade came to life with an all too familiar snap/hiss, held aloft in his right hand. Faust didn't break stride. The weightless blades of plasma had failed to impress him in the hands of trained, force-wielding masters; the sight of one being brandished by the aging Mandalorian bordered on pathetic.
The small distance that had been created melted away in moments. The priest didn't slow as he marched into Kaine's effective range. With his left hand hovering close to his abdomen and the Grimhammer held aloft in his right, he planted his right foot just a meter from Kaine and swung his hammer in a short choppy arc toward the general's left side.
A counter, or even a preemptive strike to keep him at bay, was sure to come, but between Kaine's injuries and his own speed and power, Kad'veman was assured of victory- at least in his own mind.
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Post by Kaine Australis on Jan 8, 2021 7:58:54 GMT -8
His escape had bought him the time to stand, no more, no less, and the Alor of Australis faced his enemy showing a confidence he didn't feel, and the resolve burning deep in his guts to win, no matter what, even at the cost of his own life. Faust was no slouch, and would not give Kaine any quarter, nor any freedom he didn't earn, in blood and sweat. Quite a lot of sweat given this was Tatooine and armour systems weren't perfect. The timing here would need to be perfect, Kaine knew. Strength and speed had not availed him, though he would happily try them again, he knew guile would serve him better.
Indomitable and Implacable, Faust came at Kaine. Two weapons to watch for, and moving with confidence. The hammer would be the attack, and so it was as Faust came up. Kaine put his injured left side to the rear and came forward with the saber in his right hand, ready to strike upward to catch the hammer's haft. Now was the moment that would make or break this fight for Kaine. He had only the glowing black blade to ward off doom, and to strike back.
He waited until the very last instant, the point where even he had begun to anticipate the contact between the black glowing blade and Faust's hammer. Boomer was an afterthought, on automatic, still flitting and following Faust in just close enough to be an imminent threat but far enough to be outside striking range.At the last instant, Kaine double pressed the activation stud on the hilt. An ancient tactic known as Trakata, which had the effect of extinguishing the blade, and relighting it, with the effect of surprising an enemy by passing through their weapon. Kaine had only the moment between the two presses of the button to re-angle the hilt towards Faust's faceplate, and brace himself for the hammer's impact against his chest and wounded shoulder. The saber's hum was barely interrupted with the on-off hiss as it re-ignited towards Kaine's opponent's eye.Faust Skirata
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Faust Skirata
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Post by Faust Skirata on Jan 8, 2021 13:32:57 GMT -8
Injured, outclassed, and facing an inevitable slaughter at the hands of a merciless fanatic, Kaine Australis remains unwavering. It's an impressive feat, even among a people renown for their courage in battle. To meet your death with weapon in hand is the fate of all Mandalorians; to die well the only acceptable ending to the legacy left behind. It's a universal truth deeply ingrained in their shared culture, and because of this it's acknowledged by neither man. Anything less is unthinkable.
The hammer blow comes 'round in a short, horizontal arc, and because of this it lacks both the devastating speed and power of his first swing. Faust's arm only partially extends, bicep remaining tucked close to his side, weight planted on his right foot. Regardless, a kiss from the Grimhammer's shockwave generator is enough to crumple most men.
Kaine pivots away, extending the motion needed to reach him, and simultaneously sweeps his blade up to shear through the hammer's shaft. The priest tightens his grip, preparing for the loss of the hammer's head and fully intending to beat the general to death with the heavy wooden handle.
Instead, the blade winks out of existence at the last possible instant, close enough for the edge of the magnetic field to send a shiver through the handle.
He recognizes the trick instantly. The priest served in Ashrah's crusade, and the force sensitives tallied in his body count would give Palpatine a run for his credits. Kaine is not the first sentient to try to kill him in such a way.
Recognition and reaction bleed together in the form of lightning reflexes, finely tuned by a literal lifetime of combat. As the plasma boils back to life, Faust turns into his swing, right knee bending as his hips sag and shoulders pivot to the left. His head follows, looking away from the searing spear.
Black light fills the forward section of his HUD as the blade kisses the edge of his faceplate, drawing a molten line that cuts deep enough to carve a channel of fire across the bridge of the priest's nose.
And then Faust's left hand sweeps upward, wrist curled so that the dirk's blade is laid almost flat against his forearm when it slams into the lightsaber and effortlessly shunts it away, up a few inches and then out in a half-circle.
In the wake of the hammer blow and his parry, and without waiting to see the carnage that ensued, the priest surged forward, dragging the knife blade forward along the length of Kaine's saber and forcing it further out as his right leg uncoils explosively and pivots to propel his left knee up into the general's right side, just above the hip.
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Post by Kaine Australis on Jan 9, 2021 1:08:59 GMT -8
Not dead yet.
Kaine's first thought upon seeing his gambit hadn't totally failed, though he knew he was far from out of these particular woods just yet. A minor success was not total victory, but it was a start.
Faust, though impaired by Kaine's unexpected move, reacts fast, and Kaine's weapon is taken out of line by his left hand, preventing further mistreatment from that quarter. The mistreatment caused by the hammer's impact still rattles the Australis Alor, already injured by the previous colossal strike.
The Alor sees his opponent is far from daunted, and continues to attack, and brings his next trick into play; Boomer. A blink command is all it takes.
The boomerang sweeps in, this time targeted in a disarming arc at the fingers of Faust's left hand to strike at the digits gripping the Dirk. Kaine himself moves to plant his right foot and move hip first into Faust, using his uninjured right side as a battering ram. As he does so, Kaine lets out his breath in a half pain, half exerted yell of pure effort.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
As he had done many times on the Mesh'geroya field, at the last instant Kaine would be crouching as low as possible and bouncing upward off the knee, throwing his weight and momentum out and up from the right side; in a maneuver known as the 'hip and shoulder' or 'shirtfront' in Australis ball-playing parlance.
The aim was to take the knee on his hip, while knocking Faust as senseless as he could with a full body impact, and if lucky and fortunate enough, a dirty but legal in a brawl if not on the field, right arm elbow to Faust's head. If the dirk was knocked away by Boomer, and Kaine's shift of weight and momentum struck home, Kaine would be best placed to make a killing strike with the black bladed saber with a quick slash, and he could end this fight.
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Faust Skirata
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Post by Faust Skirata on Jan 11, 2021 10:04:04 GMT -8
Faust's eyes widened behind his partially-melted visor. He had expected Kaine to crumple beneath the second hammer blow. While it lacked the force of the first, the shockwave generator built into the head should have been more than enough to turn the man's already damaged left side to jelly.
Instead, like some kind of enraged Wookiee, Kaine charged. There was nothing novel about this scenario. Many victims of Kad'veman, when backed into a corner and facing certain death, found within themselves a sudden wellspring of power. But it was a mark of the end, and when it ran dry, their fate remained unchanged.
The boomerang struck true, smashing into the top of Faust's left hand hard enough to numb his fingers and knock it downward, but his shukorok held fast to the knife. In the same instant his knee made contact with Kaine's hip, hard enough that a shudder ran up the damaged limb.
Faust's right foot, planted firmly in the sand, began to shift, heel turning inward and pivoting the priest to the left.
As Kaine's right elbow shot out, leading the charge, Faust hooked his left arm behind it, bringing the deadly point of his knife arcing in and down toward the space where Kaine's buy'ce met his right shoulder, seeking to drive the blade through the gap and into his neck. At the same time, he chopped the Grimhammer to the left, aiming to smash it into Kaine's left hip.
The general's elbow smashed into his faceplate, and Faust turned with the blow, spinning further left and, with his left knee still braced against the man's right hip, attempted to use both Kaine's own momentum, along with the force of his two simultaneous strikes, to sling the old Mandalorian to his left and dump him into the sand.
His left leg found purchase once more, wound screaming in protest yet complying nonetheless, joining the chorus of pain throbbing from his burned, shattered nose. He drank it in, accepting it unreservedly and offering it in turn to the Destroyer.
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Kaine Australis
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Post by Kaine Australis on Jan 12, 2021 4:39:02 GMT -8
The impact hurt Kaine, the impact of the hammer, the impact of his body against the unforgiving Mandalorian that was his opponent, every movement sending pain down his injured left side, but he couldn't think about pain, he didn't have the time. Survival required every bit of his concentration against such a skilled and dangerous foe.
The grapple wasn't something he could avoid given his speed and momentum and positioning, so he didn't try to fight it, his right arm hooked as his elbow smashed into Faust's faceplate. Kaine saw the dirk coming and leaned right with his head to ensure the point met beskar and not armourweave underlay that it would pierce like butter, and was rewarded with the scraping noise that told him the blow had met plate.
The hammer was coming in and Kaine's left side was on fire. With a herculean effort, he lifted his left arm an inch or so, barely enough to interfere with the hammer's incoming trajectory by not giving Faust a clean swing, but it still hit hard. As before, if not for the ballistic layering of Kaine's beskar'gam between plate and undersuit, his bones would have been powdered by now. Not that the impact didn't cause major damage; just not as bad as it could have been with a clean blow and no protection.
Faust's grip on Kaine was to be turned to the Field Marshal's advantage if he had anything to say about it. As Kaine was lifted via the fulcrum of Faust's hip, he pulled his own right arm towards his body and fired his boot thrusters. The effect if Kaine could hold on for a second would be to pull Faust off his feet and into the air. With another Trakata to effect a faster reversal of his grip on the jetiikad, Kaine would ignite the black blade at Faust's left arm with the point of the saber now held backhanded in his right hand, aiming to sever the arm, or force Faust to let go and fall.
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Faust Skirata
Member
I'm the Juggernaut, bitch.
Posts: 203
Affiliation: The Priesthood
Traffic Light: Blue
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Post by Faust Skirata on Jan 18, 2021 6:57:46 GMT -8
Faust Skirata's heart was pounding. The exhilaration of the fight mixed with screaming agony from the burn on his left leg and his shattered, charred nose made for an incredibly potent cocktail that had adrenaline and dopamine flooding the priest's system in equal measure. Even as the Grimhammer landed again, even as the tip of his knife found nothing but unyielding plate, a manic grin drew his flayed features taut. This is what Kad'veman live for: the Mortal Art.
The priest began shifting his grip the moment his knife made contact, running the tip along the edge of Kaine's buy'ce toward the back, then savagely hooking it down, aiming for the newly created gap at the back of his foe's neck, hoping to plunge through flesh and sinew toward vertebrae.
At the very least, it provided him a handhold as Kaine activated his thrusters once again, lifting them both off of their feet.
The obsidian blade winked out of existence once more, prompting a split second decision from Faust: his right hand relinquished its grip on the Grimhammer, letting the devastating weapon fall, and then shot out, lightning fast, to close his shuko'rok over Kaine's own hand, giving it a savage twist that he knew the general wouldn't be able to resist, hoping to break the bones of his wrist and force the lightsaber's already reactivating emitter skyward.
Suspended above the sands, Faust brought his right knee up, using his knife to leverage the strike up into the general's already shattered left side.
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Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
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Post by Kaine Australis on Jan 18, 2021 21:03:33 GMT -8
The two combatants shot into the air, entangled in each other's grasp, back and forth in the flow of mortal combat. Only seconds to live, with death so close, time seemed to slow, and Kaine's pain faded into the background, a distraction that might well get him killed.
Caught up in Faust's grip as he was, Kaine could do little to avoid the knife, save for thrashing and shrugging as best he could to throw the blade off course. The blade pierced into the armorweave below the plates, though fortunately for Kaine it found skin and flesh rather than spine, lodging between the armorweave and his own body.
He didn't miss the hammer falling away, and was too slow to avoid Faust's quick thinking counter, he hadn't expected his enemy to relinquish his own weapon. The crushgaunt grabbed his own right hand, ruining his Trakata by throwing off Kaine's grip and leaving the black blade off. It was all Kaine could do to hold on to the hilt.
Faust pulled his arm back, and Kaine didn't resist, preferring to keep his arm intact. The lightsaber's emitter was pointed skyward, which pointed the deadly flamethrower on Kaine's right wrist away from Faust's damaged faceplate. He would need to find another avenue of attack, and fast.
Shab Growled Kaine. His right hand let go of the deactivated lightsaber hilt, seemingly abandoning the weapon to save it from the crushing grip. Kaine's barely capable left hand reached, painfully, and caught the hilt. Gotcha. Faust's knee impacted with his injured left side, and Kaine felt the sharp internal pain of broken bones spearing into flesh. Pain was taking up more and more of his concentration. This fight couldn't go on much longer, he knew he wasn't going to last forever.
They continued to gain altitude by the moment. Kaine knew what he intended was a desperation move, but with Faust's hands busy stabbing his back and crushing his other hand, he would never get a cleaner shot.
The hilt was now held in Kaine's left hand, emitter still pointed skyward, neatly up at the neck and chin of Faust Skirata. That arm was basically useless, but Kaine didn't need to swing or thrust this time. Kaine activated the black glowing blade once more.
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Kaine Australis
The Vegemite Enclave
Consuming Copious Coopers
Posts: 1,036
Affiliation: Vegemite and Mandalore
Traffic Light: Green
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Post by Kaine Australis on Nov 18, 2021 3:23:23 GMT -8
Inky smells of fish which is bad and he should feel bad. #InkyIsAllTheWhillsDeadniquitous |
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