Private Back In The Pits

[PERSENUS]

When he was younger, when Festrous first bought him out of the Hutt Pitts, he thought he'd never have to go back into those rings again. Persenus believed that his days of fighting for just another day to survive in a cage was over. He was wrong. It was all coming back to him as he was lowered into the cantina's fight pit. Frego's fight pits were used often, too often to clean too any considerable degree. Unlike the pristine fight pits of other developed planets, or at least one with a notable upper-class, the underground here was filled with grim and twice as much scum as other systems. Even the lift that took him down into them screeched with rusted metal against rusted metal. It was all coming back to him, the torturous past that he had escaped, that his master had bought him from. For the years that he was with his master, he fought for things he had chosen to fight for. Now, he was back to fighting just to see the light of day.

"... From parts unknown, a new challenger has appeared. He bears no name, but can he bare the pain of his Tarruk The Strong?" The announce yelled into his mic, rousing the raging crowd. He could hear the laughs, and eager hands exchanging credits. They were all betting against him, after all. He was fighting a Wookie unarmed, something only the insane or desperate do. So which was he? Or was he just suicidal? Nevertheless, he stepped into the ring with confidence yet his characteristic impatience in his stride while his Wookie opponent basked in the crowd's adoration that he had earned over the years, only turning once Persenus was in his range, then the altercation began.

"Another grueling death!" The Zabrak's jaw hung from Persnus' rending hand. A Wookie, a Trandoshan, a Gamorrean, a Barabel, and then finally a Zabrak - all fell to his hands this day. He needed the money badly, as much as the fights karked him up. In his younger days, these were fighters a cut above him when he had left the arenas all those years ago, these were the big leagues. It felt like he was finally fighting outside of his pond but fortunately, the skills he developed in his time with the Sith, and away from the Sith, had given him an edge. Not only was he a generally more skilled combatant, he had the alchemical infusions blended with his physiology, allowing him to match up to these races of monstrous strength and ample skill, and dispatch them. Still, they were warriors, and those that live through this life deserve his respect, no matter how brutal an end he gives them.

The lift brought him back up. There were snarls and cheers from the crowd, mostly snarls. Those that had betted against him lost more than their fair share. No one, however, would say that he didn't earn his money. Granted, some speculated that he was stimmed up, and he was reported earlier for it. The mediators found out that he was formerly stimmed up, and he had to sparingly explain that he had an addiction problem when he was younger. The explanation was fine and passed on, but many still weren't satisfied. Speaking of the mediator...

"Freshmeat!" The Zygerrian Pit Master called to him with a name he had been given through the five fights. It was the end of tonight's rumbling, and all those that had participated were either injured, or dead. "I know you'd win! You remind me of this one Echani Slave back in Kowak. Big fighter, that man. He fought his freedom but came with me when I fled." Another rant that would end up nowhere. They were common with this Pit Master, Persenus realized. "I'm just here for my winnings. Give them."

"I know, I know. But..." He raised his clawed finger up to ask for Persenus' patience. It was quickly becoming a scarce resource. "This Echani is the current Champion here on Frego. He has heard of you and would like to face you in the Pits tomor-", "No.". "-row. You Echani like to fight amongst yourselves, right? Not many of you devote yourselves to fight pits so he is aching to have a taste of you. Win or lose, there is going to be a lot of credits to your name by the end of it!"

"No. Give me my earnings." He said bluntly as he strapped on his belongings. He was leaving. Now. The Zygerrian's ears would drop as visible annoyance furled his expressions. Persenus had spent enough time here, and far too much of that time in spotlight down there. He needed to be discreet and silent but he also needed the credits to evade his pursuers. The fight pits was his best move though he did it with great reluctance. It damaged his pride every moment he spent here, so he didn't plan to spend anymore. Besides, his pursuers would catch word of his place here quick. At least the money would allow him to make larger leaps in his travels to evade them further.

The Zygerrian slid the credits across - a few thousand for each fight. As Persenus turned, the glint of metal hanging from his belt took the Pit Master's notice. "Is that a Lightsaber, I see?" His inquiry went unacknowledged as Persenus took the credits and made for the door, but the Zygerrian had to blab his mouth again. "Isn't there a Deserter Echani Sith covered in tattoos with a large bounty on his head?" The two guards with them in the room brandished their Arg'garoks upon this information. "I hear he made massive corpse pile in Nar Shadda - Bombed a building and made tumble down to kill thousands. I hear he had a good price on his head."

Persenus left the office. Alone. He looked the door on the other side through the Force, making sure that no one saw the mess he made on the inside. He hurried out of the establishment soon after, not wanting to see the consequences of what he had done.

Kesran Opadal

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[Kesran Opadal]

"VROOOOOM"

As the loud noise of the ship exiting hyperspace subsided, Kesran checked all of his stabilizers and shields. As he began his descent down to the planet below aboard his customized HWK-1000 Light Freighter, he called out to his droid, "R4!". The astromech came buzzing down towards him, "droid beeps in a friendly tone". "Hey buddy, prepare the ship, we going down to the planet, and also give me the rundown on this world". Happily buzzing in agreement, R4-B2 connected to the ship's control console and pulled up Frego on the Holomap terminal. "Hmmm", Kesran muttered as looked over the planet information. "Seems to be under control of a faction called "Darkwire". He paused for second. "Haven't heard of them". R4 suddenly beeped. "A crime syndicate, oh boy, aren't there enough of those throughout the galaxy". "Well this is the planet the bounty hunter mentioned, I hope the target is here, lets take us down R4". As the droid locked back into the console and the ship began to dive into the planet's atmosphere, Kesran felt a presence in the force. His abilities had not been refined but the knowledge he had gained from study and training, especially from the ancient Holocron of Ancient Sith Lord, Exar Kun, had granted him great ability at such a young age.

Feeling through the force, Kesran felt the presence of another force user, one that was connected to the dark side. He perhaps thought it was someone other than his target, but as the ship reached towards the planet below, he became more sure. As the ship broke through the clouds, a large sprawling metropolis appeared, with large skyscrapers and vast boroughs, seeming mostly alright on the surface, as he reached a landing platform, he saw more the underbelly as levels of the city had been pilled on top of each other. He had been to Nar Shaddaa several times and had seen squalor and disparity at some of its worst, though so far Frego didn't seem as bad as that.

As he prepared to leave the ship via the main boarding elevator, "R4, stay with the ship buddy, this shouldn't take too long". R4 beeped in agreement as stayed onboard. As Kesran took a lift down to large concourse below, he searched through the force trying to connect and locate his prey. If his target was truly was a former Sith, he would at least be aware of Kesran's presence and his immense force presence. As the elevator reached the concourse, the buzzing of a huge crowd consumed him, and as he maneuvered he way through, he began to think of the significance of the task. Kesran was not here to simply collect the bounty, but to acquire some meager renown that accompanied the deed of slaying a former Sith. He had never faced a true Sith, even a former one, the most he had faced was a bounty hunter who carried a stolen Jedi Lightsaber, who he defeated rather easily. However fighting bounty hunters and blaster wielding assailants is nothing compared to a fully trained force wielder. yet his inexperience, Kesran was hopefully and more importantly, determined to face this new and dangerous challenge with every intention of succeeding. As he descended deep into the city, he could now feel the presence strong than before, his target was here on Frego, and Kesran would find him.

 

[PERSENUS]

Frego was a wealthy planet, even after the exposure of the Cobrals several centuries ago. It promised to turn about, to free itself from the clutches of crime. Then corporations came, and Darkwire with them. Darkwire thrived underneath the iron fist of powerful megacorporations that echoed the name of Czerka and those before it. Frego's sudden moral changes subsequently were short-lived. The twisted underworld that hung in the balance of two sides of corruption overcame the planet, and it became like all the others. Upon the rabble that populated the lower sectors, the hooded figure of Persenus, wearing brown coarseweave Jedi Robes that he had acquired through... unsavory circumstance. His robes hid that intricate tattoos that enveloped his body completely, head to toe. Not only that, but it hid the long shaft of the saber hanging precariously upon the Sith's scarf belt. He slipped through the crowds, moving towards the ship docks to buy his way out of Frego. He wasn't sure where to go now - his tries in the CIS has lead to rather... unsavory circumstance. He needed a safe haven to at least make base.

However, the leisurely pace Persenus was going in would be stricken with the sense of a sudden presence. Another Dark Sider? A Sith! Have they already come for the reports of him here? He began to quicken his pace towards the ship docks. He swerved through the crowds in a jog before veering into an alley complex. His presence went dark, his mastery of Force Stealth activating to conceal himself to the mind of the dark sider coming. He still wasn't sure if he was coming for him specifically, but Persenus was not keen to find confirmation in his worries. He kept on in the maze of alleyways, hopping over two electrical fences and taking a series of rights and lefts before ending up at an impasse.

He found himself teetering over the edge of a yawning abyss that went deeper into the lower levels of Frego. Speeders weaved through the lines of other hovering vehicles that circulated the dead drop down into certain death. His eyes darted about, looking for any landmark he could site himself to, and seeing a long signal tower that he knew was near the ship docks as it was used to signal in the pilots. An expression of displeasure bloomed upon his visage as he realized it was on the opposite end of the gnawing tunnel.

Kesran Opadal

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[Kesran Opadal]

As Kesran began to search for the former Sith, he passed a security checkpoint down an alleyway, the Darkwire enforcers were nothing more than bandits and hunters, but Kesran thought he could gain some intel. Through the force he eavesdropped and listened in to the conversation of two guards. The two of them, one a Duros, and the other a Human. "Just got a report in from the fighting pits on Sector 56, they found the Zygerrian pit master dead along with guards", said the Duros. "Oh Labar, I liked him", said the human. "Shut up Delgi, I would have liked to looted his pockets, Hehe". "Pit masters make good money", said the Duros. "Just go take his job them". "Maybe I will, he is dead after all, haha!" Kesran began to walk away, be able to gain nothing else from those two, it wasn't a confirmation, but Kesran still had his presence on lock. Then suddenly, it vanished! "What", Kesran thought to himself. "How, how is that possible". He would have know if he was leaving, thinking quickly, he determined that the Sith had cut himself off from the force somehow. However, he was unsure of how. He walked back towards the guards, they noticed him and shouted "Halt", "Yeah, What do you think you're doin slimo". As he approached them, he force pushed them to either side, crashing each against a hard wall, knocking them both out if not killing them. He then swiped their security cards, took their speeder, and sped into the speeder lanes in the middle part of the city, searching for his prey.

If he couldn't use the force to find him, he would find him any other way he could. As he sped along between and passing many other speeders, he used the speeder's navigational systems to track the route from the fighting pits towards to the nearest spaceport. He then made a sharp right, almost causing mid air accidents, and drove towards the route. While reaching it he spotted a long signal tower far in the distance. His enemy was trying to escape. Suddenly many other lanes converged and Kesran found himself in heavy speeder traffic. Frustrated, he contacted R4. "R4, you there buddy". The droid almost instantly responded, "Droid beeps very happily and curious". "No, buddy I haven't got him yet, but I think he's trying to escape to the freight docks, take the ship and meet me there, got it". "R4 responded quickly and immediately started the ship up". "Thanks R4, Ill meet you there". Soon after, Kesran exits the speeder and stands on top, trying to spot his prey, but couldn't spot anything. Apparently, he was looking for an Echani, however, he had maybe seen one or two in his life. Kesran then came up with a plan as he began to jump leaps and bounds down the trafficked speeder line with the force. He would do the only thing that could draw him out. Make a big bang.

 

[PERSENUS]

There he was, running along the sides of the gaping hole that was littered with hovercraft traffic. He was clambering on the steel machinations and sliding across lose wires with the hilt of his unignited saber. He was teetering above the spine-chilling heights that could lead him falling into a descent he'll never rise up from again on metal platforms with dubious stability. His weight upon them croaked and made those supports crackle with stress. He had a small margin of error while he was treading on them, and he made a mistake. A screw came lose and he found himself accelerating downwards.

"Chaos!" He expleted as he leapt up, using the Force to augment his leap. His fingers grasped firmly on the wires of the electric fence that guarded the edges of the drop, causing a surge of pain to run down his body as he pulled himself up, his other hand coming into contact with the fence as well. A slither of his concentration was taken, his presence in the Force becoming known as pain and anger came through him, the Dark Side beckoning Kesran towards the Echani hanging above. Before situations would get worse, however, he pulled himself up, using pure upper body strength to propel himself above the fence and onto solid ground.

Meanwhile, if Kesran would feel the sudden weakness in Persenus' shields, his attention would be directed to the ship docks above the heavy speeder traffic. A small supporting structure that was vestigial at best had fallen down, hanging from the weak screws and bolts on its other end. Atop the protruding structure was Persenus, dismissing the sudden pain and letting himself take a rest before moving forward, racing to the ships.

Kesran Opadal

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[Kesran Opadal]

As he prepared to enter in the tunnel towards the ship docks, the force presence returned to him, he sensed him again, and this time he could sense pain and fear. He tried to spot and after a little while, he saw a man propelling himself back onto a small thin ledge near the bend between the city skyline and the skip docks diagonally below. Kesran could sense it was the Echani. He remembered the report detailing his background and his name, Persenus. Even though they were technically the same rank, as Persenus had been a Apprentice and was never named a Sith Lord, he was somewhat older and definitely more experienced. Kesran was confident, and forever to determined to prove his might! With almost all of his force energy he leaped a massive force jump over the hanging abyss, using speeders in the small lanes to bounce off of to reach Persenus. He attempted to cut him off by jumping towards the signal tower, just next to the ship docks. As he did so, he saw Persenus entering the dockyard terminal down to his left. Kesran then drew his lightsaber and circularly sliced a hole through the roof and entered the complex. He then descended down to the hallways and now searched for fallen Sith traitor. "Yeah R4, good buddy, shoot at any ship trying to leave alright" "The droid beeps back confused a bit". "Don't worry buddy, just disable their hyperdrives, and only use the ion torpedo if you have to, alright!" "The droid beeps back encouraged". Kesran still sensed him, but his power grew the closer he got. This would be Kesran toughest challenge to date.

 

[PERSENUS]

Persenus was never one for tactics. He wasn't the type to lead great onslaughts of soldiers with complex maneuvers. He didn't have the intellect for that. Nor did he have the charisma to command such an army. In schemes and plots, he was a failure of a Sith, but he had his moments. In the heat of the moment, he had a penchant for creating quickly small-scale maneuvers, preparing the use of his egg bombs for his next move. Running away, he knew, was not going to get him anywhere. He knew that this man had to have a ship, and few Sith Assassins ever came at him alone after the incident on Nar Shadda. He had a hunch, if the Force was not telling him, to deal with his problems on the ground before leaving. He realized that he'd caused more trouble for him if he doesn't deal with him now - uncharacteristic foresight for one such as him.

He delved into the establishment around five or four rooms away from Kesran. He hid his presence, void again to the senses of Kesran but he would feel it once more soon. Towards the center of the room, taking his saber from within his robes. He revealed himself once more if only just to use the Force to kill the lights, grasping and crushing the bulbs, sending the room he was in and the next few ones in the dark. To add to that, he activated his saber, causing the rest of the people in the room to start to flee as they saw the contrast of red against the murky darkness. He pointed it up to the fire sprinkler, using the heat to cause water to spray at everyone.

Kesran too would experience the sudden spray of water. The water was made to dilute the senses, the sound of drips, the water in the eyes, all stripped visual and audio clarity from perception. All the while, the darkened rooms with both the normal lights and the emergency lights broken would not help Kesran find Persenus with his presence once again fading, with his last known location being where he had broken all the lights. Now, Persenus hid idly, awaiting for his pursuer to come to him, his saber deactivated and his senses expanding to reach for the young acolyte.

Kesran Opadal

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[Kesran Opadal]

Kesran readily walked down the hallway, feeling the slight tremors of Persenus's existence, fading in and out. Suddenly, a large group of people fled screaming from a room to his left. Then again, when the water sprinklers went off, somewhat diluting his senses but not for long. He slow crept into the room, immediately drawing his saber out as he did. He could sense Persenus almost reaching to him, as if to warn him, maybe harm him, he wasn't sure. Before he started to panic, he took a deep breath and concentrated on the force. Calming himself, he closed his eyes and attempted to reach back out to Persenus. He could feel the traitor sense it as it returned to him. "Ha!" said Kesran. "You are in here". Stopping in the center of the room, he paused for a bit then said, "I do have to say it is a pleasure to meet you, a hunter should at least be grateful for a challenging prey,...…Persenus". lightly laughing, "Haha, oh yes, I know your name and what it means". "Come show yourself, and speak to me if you dare".

 

[PERSENUS]

Another young Sith Acolyte wishing to make a name for himself has come to face him. He's heard his words before, many others have come to him thinking they're bravado could push him. He watched him from above, suspending himself there by pushing against two of the supports. He was above a forty-five degree angle, a technique used by more primitive civilizations before the invention of camouflage patterns and far before stealth generator fields. Few people ever looked above a forty-five degree angle, which was one of the reasons why flying predators were so dangerous. A silently swooping bird of prey coming for the kill to thoughtless prey.

He watched idly as Kesran searched for him, the only light in the room being the natural lights from the window and Kesran's saber. The hiss of water droplets evaporating upon contact with the plasmatic blade resounded across the now vacant room. He was a single spot of red in a murky darkness, like a target wishing to be hit. In the shadows, awaiting for Kesran's back to be turned against him, Persenus saw blood. He pounced off of his hiding spot and towards Kesran with inhuman speed barely a blur if he was in good light, but his attack would be near imperceptible with the darkened room.

His saber ignited, glowing a fierce red but was darker in tone than normal Synthetic Crystals, likely suggesting that a Power Crystal was within. The crossguard of his saber flared brightly as he brought his blade down upon Kesran with preternatural swiftness and strength. Kesran would not sense his attack through the Force, still concealed through Force stealth, making Precognition fail him in that moment. The inhuman strength and speed was purely from the alchemic concoction from the tattoos on his body, giving him superior physical prowess than those of his race.

"Stop talking. Your theatrics amuse no one but yourself. No one else would have standards that low, after all." Persenus spat with venom. If Kesran were to block his saber strike, he would feel the power behind it, not only because of Persenus great strength. The saber itself was heavy for a saber, giving it superiority in the binds. Combined with the sheer preternatural physical prowess of Persenus, his swords swings were tiring to defend against, and his defense exhausting to wear down. That is, if you even have the chance to wear it all.

Kesran Opadal

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[Kesran Opadal]

Kesran was caught off guard, too confident again, like that time on Kessel. No. Not again he thought to himself. He backed up as each of Persenus's strikes were staggering him. Before one clipped his head, Kesran backflipped backwards, jumping onto the top of a cubicle desk. "Powerful, more than I thought", Kesran said trying to catch his breath. Kesran muttered back to the Sith traitor, "You speak of standards, but yet I hear you lost to your weakened master after hours of battle". "What was his name again, ahh, that's it". "Darth Festrous". "I'll be sure to give him your head once I'm done with you". Suddenly Kesran leaped at Persenus, and began wailing his saber, twirling, jumping, and spinning. The hallmarks of Ataru, which Kesran was getting better at each time. He was still learning, and didn't want to rely on it heavily. But so far, he was pushing Persenus back a touch as he channeled his full strength to meet the Sith head on. After both of them missed their strikes, they then clashed in a bladelock.

 

[PERSENUS]

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Persenus would recognize his style as Ataru. He had practiced it quite well himself, and he knew the counters to the moves he used, and how to dismantle them. He also knew that Ataru was not about attrition - Kesran was using it wrongly. For each strike that Persenus would block, he would redirect the flow of his power into offense concentrated back onto Kesran. Ataru was not about overwhelming an opponent, nor was it to tire them out. It was to outwit them, to find the weak spots in the form and condition your adversary into misleading notions. Persenus' Djem So would beat his Ataru pound-for-pound, partly because the offensive capabilities of Ataru would find itself lacking in the defensive qualities of Djem So regardless of skill due to its more delocalized style, especially with the touches Persenus has with it. Instead of the more stationary footing, Persenus was dynamic, partly thanks to his experience in Ataru. Flowing strikes that melded into each other and transitioned perfectly into parries. In short, his choice of facing a Djem So specialist head-on with Ataru of all things would not fare well.

"Ramblings, ramblings..." He muttered as he batted aside one of his attacks before stepping in for a stab. His parries were immensely powerful now that he was actually augmenting himself through the Force. Kesran would find that Persenus was blatantly physically superior due to alchemic enhancements, his specialization in Force abilities revolving around physical augmentation, and his practice of Djem So that has conditioned him to have far more strength. His saber, being especially heavy, was easily batting aside his own attacks and this one right here, batting his downwards as it naturally positioned himself into a stabbing motion, towards his chest. He had stepped in while he parried, closing the distance in an instant leaving only a slither of a moment for Kesran to react. "Did they teach you nothing be empty threats?"

"Dun Moch, child, is of little to no use when against a Sith." Persenus said, referring to Kesran's blathering.

Kesran Opadal

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[Kesran Opadal]

With little time, Kesran focused all of his energy and drove his saber to bat down the incoming stab. He had underestimated Persenus, but he would be not be denied, as he swung his saber around his head to strike Kesran, he gathered his power and used a force push, sending Persenus stumbling back a few feet. Now Kesran was boiling with rage, his fire hot as ever! He used the force to throw large objects like desks and terminals over at Persenus. To Kesran it came to him far better than his dueling skills as of now. As Kesran ceased his attack, he muttered, "I wasn't trained by any master, not yet at least". "If I had been, I would have better smarter in trying to kill them". Persenus was hiding his fear well, but Kesran could still sense it. As Persenus readied to attack, so did Kesran, and he know began augmenting himself with the force as well. This time when he attacked, he laid into Persenus with Juyo and drew on all of his rage.

 

[PERSENUS]

If he thought he was going for an overhead, he was wrong once more. Going for a long overhead there would not be in character for the closer quarters that Persenus had engaged in with Kesran after all. While Kesran may have mustered the speed to bat his saber downwards, Persenus had given into that push, letting his saber push his down until his saber became trapped between Persenus' blade and his crossguard, limiting the movement of that Kesran could attain with his own lightsaber. Before Kesran could muster anything up for the Force Push, Persenus countered with a quicker push. A normal push - with augmented strength but lacking any telekinetic means. As he had stepped in for a stab, he was now in position to compromise Kesran's stance. As he wound up, he had already advanced.

With Persenus pushing him in the chest, Kesran would find that the foot that Persenus stepped in with to be behind his lead leg. While tricky it was possible not to trip, but tripping was likely a better idea as Persenus would advance again as his blade started to fight against Kesran's which was losing stability due to him potentially falling. With this, all Persenus need to attack was to move forward with his sword, stabbing at Kesran's retreating figure. Persenus was never one for stratedgy, nor was he one with any great emotional control as to not rely on the Force, but in physical combat he was not letting up.

"You're not very looking smart from where I am standing."

Kesran Opadal

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[Kesran Opadal]

As Kesran nearly tripped, he attempted to roll away to not be compromised. Once he did he switched to Soresu, which he was much more comfortable with. However Kesran now understood that he could not defeat Persenus off of his dueling skills, which will need some work if he survives he thought. He would use his near mastery of Soresu to defend and wait for a counter and hopefully get lucky. He also had a strong force ability up his sleeve just in case.

 

[PERSENUS]

As Kesran would roll backwards, Persenus would swipe upwards out of range. While the swipe not reach Kesran in direct melee, with the use of Persenus' Upari Crystal inside his saber, he would let lose an arc of energy that would reach Kesran just he exited out of the roll, giving him little time to rest. Meanwhile, he would call upon his use of the Force to pull Kesran forward, likely catching him in an unstable positon as he had just exited out of the roll, providing little focus to expend on resisting the pull, getting back into a stance, and defending himself form the arc of plasmatic energy that was coming to bisect him. All three would be imperative in his situation now; if he fails at the latter, he gets pulled off balance and towards Persenus' blade, if he fails at the former, he gets killed through bisection, leaving him in two halves. If he fails to grasp upon the middle action, his defenses against Persenus' next actions would be subpar at best, which would likely be the least damaging thing to fail at, but against a duelist of Persenus' caliber, it would be a death sentence to hold up a solid form. But doing all three would be near impossible even for one much more skilled than Kesran. Three vital movements to consider, stripping focus away from the Force ever so abruptly.

"Tell me, acolyte - Do you know how many before you have come to take my head and failed. How many of them were twice as strong as you?" He taunted, now using the Force to try to pry into his mental defenses, attempting to instill fear and dread, as those whom practice Juyo and Djem So are so inclined to as they wail upon their enemies' endurance. "Do you want to know what their last words were? What I did to their bodies?"

"Do you want to know what I'll do to yours?"

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[Kesran Opadal]

As the force pull of Persenus lunged him forward, Kesran used all of his energy and focus to break free and use the force to catapult his himself far over Persenus and barely missing his blade in the process. As he landed on a high ground position behind his opponent, he was nearly out of breath, the last 3 minutes of combat had been taxing to say the least. Kesran was actually very impressed despite his hate and rage. He thought Persenus would be a former Sith with meager skills, but instead he found a combatant worth of his name and renown. As Persenus turned around to face him, stealthily using the force to pry fear into Kesran's mind, which he was barely holding off, Kesran spoke. "I do not care how many were sent before me, nor what they said or what you did to them". "Their fate is not one that I will share". As he prepared for his opponent to approach, he calmed himself and switched to his Soresu stance, which he was far more comfortable using. Waiting for Persenus to make his move he spoke again, "I will admit that I underestimated you Sith, your skill with the blade is masterful". "If only you had killed your master, perhaps we would be allies at this moment instead of enemies". "Then again perhaps not". Meanwhile, Kesran was recharging his force energy for his main course and as his opponent prepared to reengage, Kesran quickly sheathed his saber and began to gnarl and scream. Seconds later Kesran released his full entire power and sent a current of Force Lightning from his fingertips towards his adversary.

 

[PERSENUS]

Persenus remained steadfast against his prodding, his shields not having been worn down just yet. He was keen on keeping pressure upon the young acolyte, not wanting to give him a moment's rest. As he leapt up into the air, Persenus trailed his movements. The moment he landed, Persenus too was on the same level, leaving him without the advantage of the high ground. It was not only a measure of his attempts to overpower Kesran physically but also mentally. If Persenus can keep up this aggression and on him, he knew that the pressure can lay havoc on his nerves, fracturing his mental shields. "If I hadn't left the Empire, I would've made sure that unworthy filth like you never got the chance to elevate their position." He said as his saber remained aglow, changing forms to Ataru in response to his Soresu, but upon the signs and flashes in the force, warning him of Lightning, he would now respond with Force Weapon.

The Force channeled through his saber and upon contact with the lightning, began to absorb it with the Force. The blue electricity spun around, orbiting his blade as more power was pushed upon it, now deflecting the lighting right back at Kesran. "No tact. No preparation. Have you ever been in a fight before, child?" He jabbed with his words. "You have the technique, but no experience. No chaining. It's like they sent you after me to die. Honestly, they probably did."

Persenus, so far, was conserving his energy, at least in comparison to Kesran. He hasn't pushed himself to any extents like Kesran yet, putting great amounts of effort and energy into moves that would prove ultimately fruitless, in spite of Persenus acting like a pressure fighter, or perhaps because of it. He knew that he was at least winning in gas in spite of both of them being somewhat lacking in the realm of endurance.

Kesran Opadal

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[Kesran Opadal]

As Kesran let most of his force power go with his lightning, he quickly realized that Persenus had caught it with his saber. While Kesran, absorbed the send back lightning and converted it to serve his power reserves, he was now understanding that a victory was going to be much harder to achieve than initially thought. As Kesran stood back up straight, he replied, "A shame that Sith these days lack honor and respect". "And yes, I am unexperienced, and I tracked you down not by the command of any Sith, but by my desire to gain renown and face a challenging opponent, which you have definitely proven to be', Kesran said while devilishly grinning. Kesran was a bit perplexed that his opponent had no respect for his own powers, yes Kesran was inexperienced, but he possessed immense potential. "And for my master, I was not trained by any meddling Sith Lord, but by the Holocron of the Ancient Sith Lord Exar Kun". "And he taught me much in the ways of the Sith, even his knowledge of Sith Alchemy". Kesran was meanwhile holding off the mental penetration of Persenus, which was strong. As Persenus prepared to respond, Kesran quickly clicked a button on his wrist commlink.

 

[PERSENUS]

As Kesran took the mentally tasking chore of absorbing the Lightning right after he had sent it out all the while guarding himself from Persenus' mental prodding, Persenus saw his chance. Chaining two advanced abilities, Tutaminis and Force Lightning, would take focus away from other factors. While Kesran may be dealing well with the mental shielding, keeping such focus was already pushing the limits of the abilities of a mere acolyte, though he must commend him for even being able to do such a task. Nevertheless, he knew that as he put power on one foot, the other would be unstable. His physical shields would be suffering, the defenses that shielded him from the likes of Force Pushes, Force Pulls, and other direct physical uses.

Now, there were many ways he could affect him in a physical sense, but there was one he was very keen on using, and was fitting of his conservative goal. While Kesran was using all sorts of advanced abilities though having lesser experience than Persenus, Persenus opted to use more rudimentary powers like Force Weapon, and now he uses the most elementary of Force Wounds. A telekinetic pulse would rifle throug lungs of Kesran if he failed to resist. Spasms and a sudden coughing fit would overtake him in, composure broken. While, surely painful, and if Persenus so wanted to, he could have tried to punch a hole in his lungs, but that was against the outline of his battle strategy.

The coughing fits, if not defended against, would strip away his endurance, destabilize breathing, and likely put even more mental pressure upon Kesran, inching towards the breakage of the mental shields as well. They would interrupt the lofty speeches he was giving, which was the main reason why Persenus opted for this move. Not only was it less taxing than Force Choke, requiring constant focus for asphyxiation, this was merely to interrupt and to inflict sharp immediate pain that would take away even more focus from the battle, it would shut him up.

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[Kesran Opadal]

Beginning to cough, Kesran realized his error. Stupid mother, got his talkative traits from her. It was something he didn't like about himself. As Persenus used his many abilities against Kesran which were all taking their toll, Kesran was losing his composure, and at one point he knelt down in the pain. He was losing, not something he was used to. As looked up at Persenus, his rage built up, and built up and built up until his entire being was filled with hatred. He had never been so angry and after losing his composure he was turning into his idol, Exar Kun, a ultra powerful Sith who had constant problems with controlling his anger. This was the first time this was happening for Kesran and as unstable as it made him, it made him stronger! He started to gnarl, growl, and scream, due to being in pain still and his force rage overblowing. As he kept summoning more and more rage, his body weakened further, it was do or die. He attempted to unlock an ability shown to him by Exar Kun, but surely Kesran could not control as well as the former dark lord. His opponent had to have felt his rage burrowing, possibly out of control. The dark side was in control and Kesran was at its mercy. He continued to growl and shout, "AAAAGHHHHH, URRRRRRGGGGH". Doing this at least negated most of the mental abilities Persenus was using, but Kesran had bigger issues. When the dark side takes over, the control Kesran has begins to decrease. This would show his enemy that he was no mere acolyte!