Private Enter The Renegade

[Reagan Zambrano]

Location: Nal Hutta, Bilbousa
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

Within the confining backrooms of a seedy cantina on the vile planet of Nal Hutta a trio of snarling gamorreans escorted a young woman. She was notably the one and only daughter to the Senator of Balmorra. Taking her to Reagan after a recent development. The alien mercenaries approached a door, punching in a simple code before the metallic doors slid open into an office like room. In the back behind a desk casually sat the Dark Jedi. Leaning back in a large chair with his boot-covered feet kicked up onto the desk. Hands on the back of his head with their fingers interlocked. Clad in his typical denym three piece suit. Pale blues eyes looked over to the group as they entered.

“So… My friends here tell me you managed to send a message out to your dear old man, is this true?” Reagan spoke from the chair across the room. The young woman didn’t answer, her lips remaining shut. Letting out a sigh he shifted his posture, bringing his feet down before standing up. Looking down at the four of them he had an imposing stature, yet would still be dwarfed by many of those in his family. Stepping around his desk in front of the Senator’s daughter he knew that she had sent a message out. Having checked the communications of the cantina and finding that a few messages had been sent back and forth from here to Balmorra. But he sensed there was more to it than just that. Leaning over her some and growing a smirk Reagan held up a hand and spoke once more. “You’d be wise to tell me what you and your father discussed, Miss Addison.” Along with his words his hand gave a slight wave and though The Force compelled her to spill the secret she was keeping.

“We spoke and he plans to rescue me. A jedi is on their way as we speak.” Addison let out a loud gasp right after she confessed and brought her hands to her mouth in shock over so easily telling that information. Reagan straightened his posture some and thought about what this meant, stepping back a little. The three gamorreans began to look restless, concerned about what might happen if the Jedi arrived.

“Do you think we should leave? We can get out of here before they arrive.” One of the pig-like mercenaries suggested.

Reagan shook his head some. “No actually… let them come. They’ve lost their element of surprise now, and if things turn out good, well I’ve heard the market for Jedi bounties is always good.” The Dark Jedi explained, hoping to get a series payday from all this. Both from the Jedi and as retaliation for a rescue he marks up the ransom by a lot more. Looking back down at the senator’s daughter he spoke. “Your old man is gonna wish he had just paid for my generous first offer. Take her back to her cell.” He ordered the gamorreans.

As they grabbed the young woman to take her back to her cell she definitely shook out of their grasp. “Get your hands off me! I can walk fine on my own!” She shouted in a fiery tone. Just as she did one of the pig-like mercenaries raised their fist strike her for her retaliation, but never made contact. Before they could bring their fist down they froze and started to make some gasping noises. Reagan eyeing them had his hand extended towards them in a grasping gesture.

“I already told you swine… No damaging the merchandise…” Reagan’s voice took a more menacing tone before he moved his arm to the side. Still gripping the gamorreans throat and telekinetically slamming their body into the wall next to them. Looking back to the remaining guards and Addison he continued. “And I hate repeating myself, this is the last warning.” Keeping his eyes on them and not looking at the one he was choking, Reagan's fist clenched and swiftly crushed and broke the neck of the guard who had raised their fist to their hostage. With that the remaining guards took Addison to their cell in a hasty retreat. Door closing behind them Reagan let out a deep breath and leaned back some against the desk. Thinking about this new Jedi situation…

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Nal Hutta
Tags: Reagan Zambrano

​

Jasper was no stranger to working with the underworld. The latter years of his padawan days and his early knighthood were spent in the underbelly of Coruscant, learning the best ways to combat the nastiest kinds of folks in the galaxy. It was very much off the record of the NJO, but he had made sure to do so well within their confines so that ultimately, should he be found out, there would be no reprimands. The council seemed to like this "by the book" methodology, so it was no surprise that the Order came back to him with such a task, even being on the council himself.

The matter was pretty simple. Daughter of the senator of Balmorra sends out a distress call for Nal Hutta, and darksiders are reportedly involved in the matter. It was a ransom deal turned south by an unexpected distress call, and Jasper reasoned that his arrival was very much expected. Anyone could simply barge in and swing a lightsaber around, but that was how people wound up getting killed. The knight had learned all too well in his youth that getting yourself killed didn't help anyone. So, Jasper leaned back on his mechanical knowhow to formulate a plan.

Locating the 'establishment' that these criminals were staked out in was rather simple. Jasper triangulated the signal and used highjacked cameras from a local gang's security system to narrow it down to a shady cantina. Before long he had clambered up onto the roof and into the a hidden passage, a 'smugglers escape' so to speak. Establishments of this sort always had lesser known exits to slip away from sudden raids. As he suspected, there seemed to be very little security. The team for this ransom opperation was clearly small to avoid suspicion.

It was inside the building and around the corner that he finally heard the voice of one of the perpetrators

“And I hate repeating myself, this is the last warning.”

The distinct sound of a snapping neck followed. Jasper knew the sound of a dark sider when he heard it. It seemed this one had a distinct lack of patience.

It wasn't long before the two remaining Gamorreans were heading his direction, escorting the senator's daughter. The knight took a moment to compose himself before rounding the corner with very little warning. One blow of his mechanical fist dropped the first in an instant, his face now greatly disfigured, and Jasper wasted very little time turning to the other and firing off three stun-rounds with his bryar pistol.

"I suggest you find somewhere to hide," he stated to the woman, wasting no time stepping towards the darksider.

Jasper took a moment to eye up the man, holstering his pistol. He was noticeably giant, and the general structure of his face was familiar enough for the knight to get a pretty good idea what he was dealing with. Epicanthix with dark tendencies all seemed to have a nasty habit of winding up from a common source.

"Oh great," Jasper muttered. "One of you..."

This was going to be a long day.

 

[Reagan Zambrano]

Location: Nal Hutta, Bilbousa
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

To Reagan’s surprise as he looked to the sound of a struggle he saw the two remaining Gamorreans quickly beaten by the apparent rescuer. As he spoke to the senator’s daughter she looked at him with wide eyes and nodded. Not sure if he was a Jedi since she didn’t see him use a lightsaber. Nonetheless she tried to follow up on Jasper’s suggestion.

The denym clad man stood over the would-be hero, gazing down at them as a smirk crept over his bearded face. He could tell this was the Jedi, sensing their connection now. “Hehe, I’ll admit you arrived much sooner than I would have expected. I myself prefer to show up in more of a fashionably late sort of way.” Reagan’s voice had a bit of a pronounced rustic drawl to it. Something more akin to what one would hear on an agri-world.

Hearing the Jedi’s words he would reply with, “Oh don’t tell me it’s that obvious.” Letting out a defeated sigh he reached behind the front of his jacket and pulled out a single lightsaber hilt. Gripping it in his disguised cybernetic hand Reagan continued. “I hope you’re not looking to ruin my payday here. If things go smoothly I think I’ll be thankful you’ve arrived. How much would your lightsaber go for in the black market, a couple dozen, or over a hundred thousand credits? Or Perhaps would you perfer to keep your weapon and leave me be on my merry way with my hostage?” Reagan was certain the Jedi possessed one of him right now. With his own emitter pointing down he ignited his lightsaber, a deep blood-orange blade extended out.

“What will it be, little man?” The Dark Jedi taunted, taking a jab at his opponent’s height. Although Jasper really wasn’t all that small.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Nal Hutta
Tags: Reagan Zambrano

​

Jasper very visibly rolled his eyes as the man went on his entire rant about getting his paycheck, selling his weapon, he should turn and run. So on and so forth. The knight had very little patience for monologuing, and every cartoonish evil wackjob he came across seemed to spew monologues out of every pore in their body. All of that bluster was such a waste of time. At least it gave him a few moments to analyze the room and get a better understanding of the layout. His mechanical side was already looking at the verious systems, or lack-there-of, present in the room. Very little as far as safety went, but something did catch the top corner of his eye.

This place had fire protection.

The knight wasted no time drawing his saber, slashing it across the low ceiling above them. The heat was enough to trigger the poorly designed sprinkler system, which began to pour water down on the two. Another factor he could play around. For the moment, that would do. He'd wait for a good opportunity to present itself.

From there, with water now spilling down his face, the Sentinel of Harmony assumed the Djem So opening stance, holding his blade out in front of him clasped in both hands.

"Get on with it then."

 

[Reagan Zambrano]

Location: Nal Hutta, Bilbousa
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

"Want me to cut to the chase huh? I can respect that..." He could tell that the Jedi before him had no real interest in what he had to say. Although he did cock an eyebrow as they attacked the sprinkler system. Reagan doubted that the Jedi just had a thing for fighting in the rain. It made him wonder what they were planning. In the background the two duelists would hear a screech as the senator’s daughter was sprayed with water from the ceiling. Droplets sizzled into steam against their blades he watched as they got into a Djem So opening stance. This telegraphed to Reagan that this was a Jedi that cared more for action than for words. The kind that took a more heavy handed approach to dealing with opposition.

Reagan brought his own blade up in both hands in an ataru opener, before gradually shifting to a more exaggerated one handed grip with his lightsaber, holding up high. Changing it to a more classical Juyo stance. The Dark Jedi then made his move, quickly took a step forwards and acrobatically moved his body performing a fast cartwheel to close the distance and generate momentum for an overhand attack towards Jasper.

To Reagan the Perseverance Form the Jedi seemed to display was just a more effective version of the passive defensive Soresu. But still a defensive form meant to turn an opponent's own attack against them. The epicanthix would play into that and see if the Jedi would be biting off more than can chew. Wanting to overwhelm and batter them down with flurry acrobatics and interconnected attacks. But still a part of him nagged internally. What was their play with the sprinklers?

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Nal Hutta
Tags: Reagan Zambrano

​

Ataru. Fast, aggressive, and intended to overwhelm. The mixing of Juyo seemed to be more to throw off than present current use of the form, and Jasper had no intentions of being overwhelmed. The knight maintained his footing, intercepting the incoming blows in a manner that was Soresu like, but far more grounded in the dueling instincts of Makashi, his favored form. Of course, Jasper knew most forms. He liked to have flexibility.

Before long, Jasper was ready for his own attack. He shifted his saber to his organic hand, using a diagonal slash to lock their sabers to the side. One armed strength styles were difficult in dueling, but the knight only had one organic arm. That meant it had to pick up the slack for both. He was confident enough to hold back the Zambrano's lightsaber long enough for Jasper to raise his mechanical hand, pointing out his index finger. On the end, a rune was written in white ink.

Lightning.

Reagan would surely recognize it as the specialty of his father, an art that Kahlil had shifted to suit the light and taught to him some time ago. Jasper would let force energy spill into the rune, letting off a small burst of electricity.

It was time to put the darksider's resistance to the test.

 

[Reagan Zambrano]

Location: Nal Hutta, Bilbousa
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

Although Reagan didn’t have the bright burning eyes characteristic of many Sith, he still had a passionate fire within them. As he kept trying to bombard the Jedi in front of him with his assault.

As Jasper moved their lightsaber to their organic hand and tried to take advantage of it. Initially viewing it as a grave mistake on the Jedi’s part as the larger epicanthix put his weight along with both hands into the bind of their blades. To try and knock Jasper’s defenses out of their way and with a quick twirl of his own blade bring it back down on them.

However, their maneuver wasn’t just some mistake as he brought their own mechanical hand to their chest. Pointing at not just any runes, but sith runs. With a remarkably familiar handwriting. But before he could understand, it was all made very clear as a small blast of electricity crawled over his body, aided by the hard water sprinkled from the rusty cantina pipes above. Before Reagan could make their attack his whole body sized up and clenched violently as he took a step back. The Dark Jedi's own disguised cybernetic hands spasmed from the shock and caused him to drop his own lightsaber from his grip.

“GahH!” He simply exclaimed before sharply inhaling through gritted teeth. His hands involuntarily clenched and opened as if trying to recalibrate from the sudden electrical attack they just sustained.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Nal Hutta
Tags: Reagan Zambrano

​

The water had worked to just the effect he had hoped for. Jasper wasted very little time pulling the darksider's lightsaber to his free hand, quickly stowing it on his utility belt below his jumpsuit. A frown came to his face as he assessed Reagan's hands. They were cybernetic, hidden by a layer of synth skin.

"Not proud of your scars?" Jasper remarked. "Must be a rough memory."

Jasper had his own theory, and it came back to Carnifex. His run in with the Sith Lord gave him enough of an idea of the kind of man he was. He wasn't really a man, ultimately, more a shell consumed by hatred. Certainly not a good father figure. To that end it made abandonment seem like a breeze, but Jasper wasn't in the mood to show the man pity. He was still on the payroll of scum. The knight lifted his blade, pointing it at the man's chest.

"Alright, I want details on your employer," he stated. "Give me no trouble and I can assure that your trip to Azrael Asylum is a pleasant one."

He hoped he had done enough already to dissuade the Epicanthix of further conflict. Jasper wasn't going to underestimate the man, however. As tactical as he was in the moment, getting cocky was a spell of disaster. He maintained his form, ready to continue fighting if need be.

 

[Reagan Zambrano]

Location: Nal Hutta, Bilbousa
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

The Dark Jedi frowned down at Jasper’s comment about his hands. His words were a little too accurate and it angered Reagan some. Unlike his opponent’s apparent cybernetic arm that wasn’t wrapped in artificial flesh.

Taking a small step back Reagan’s hands still twitched and clenched up. Gradually recalibrating. He figured he’d talk since he was in no position to fight now with Jasper’s own blade pointed towards him. Letting out a huff he spoke. “Dang, you think so little of me. You wanna know who my employer is huh? Well you’re looking right at him.” Reagan gave a wordy response as a bit of a stall tactic. A round about way of saying he was self employed in a sense. They also spoke of the Azrael Asylum, a place he’d only heard of but not looked into.

“This whole plan to ransom the Senator’s Daughter was cooked up by yours truly. Those funds were gonna go to me and my own operations you understand. I only work for myself.” The Dark Jedi explained some, was it foolish of him to confess that he was on his own? Perhaps, but his own ego prevented him from letting Jasper think that he was someone else's pawn.

Bringing one of his hands up he looked at it, it was still now finally. Making his mechanical fingers move around a bit in a controlled manner let him know they were ready. “Oh well will you look at that…” He said looking back down at Jasper. “Back to it then!” With that he reached into his jacket once more and pulled out yet another lightsaber. Igniting the weapon it once again glowed with a blood orange hue where he quickly had it engage Jasper’s blade. With his free hand he reached out to summon his other lightsaber off of Jasper’s belt and ignite it as well.

Now with double the lightsaber Reagan doubled down on his assault. If his brute force wasn’t working before, then he obviously wasn’t using enough of it he reasoned. The Dark Jedi imagined that if Jasper tried any more funny business with their runes and pointed back at them he would punish the Jedi with his off hand now that he was using Jar'Kai.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Nal Hutta
Tags: Reagan Zambrano

​

The talk ended quickly when power came back to his hands. Jasper would retain the info that the darksider was working alone. It made sense that the man had an ego, given his father. Now there were to blades heading towards him, moving with far more ease. Jar'Kai. With very little hesitation, Jasper drew and activated his other lightsaber which lie in wait, an shoto with a synthetic orange crystal he had recovered from a smuggling operation on Coruscant. He was quick to intercept the incoming blades, letting out a sigh.

It could never be easy, could it?

"Right then," he muttered.

Jasper hadn't threatened the hard route. He had promised it. It was his turn to be aggressive. One didn't typically think of Djem So as a form that was commonly paired with Jar'Kai, given it's strength focus, but nonetheless a flurry of powerful blows came in retaliation to Reagan's attack. In particular, steam began to billow out of Jasper's mechanical arm as the hydraulic piston within flared to life. It was a powerful piece of tech, something the knight had tested in his younger years when he fractured the skull of an unusually immortal canine drug dealer. It could leave dents in durasteel, and he had no qualms using that power to take off a few limbs.

 

[Reagan Zambrano]

Location: Nal Hutta, Bilbousa
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

The situation the two combatants found themselves in was a tricky one. Almost opposites in their approach yet they converged at the use of jar’kai. Jasper had drawn a second weapon of their own now as well. An orange shoto, Reagan wasn’t foolish enough to underestimate the shorter lightsaber, especially not here where it might even prove a better fit than his own two full sized blades.

Despite his stature Reagan was fluid, and kinetic. Ataru being his primary lightsaber form, he wanted to instead avoid or even flow around the momentum of Jasper’s attacks. The use of Djem So with dual blades called for exceptional strength, and the Jedi seemed to possess such an advantage. Likely in no small part thanks to his cybernetic arm which billowed out jets of steam in tandem with his blows.

Being a rather tall individual himself and stuck in the confines of the room it prevented Reagan from utilizing the full scope of his acrobatics. He couldn’t just bounce around his strength based opponent and run circles around him. The Dark Jedi needed to adjust his stance or be dominated by Jasper’s own steady stream of power attacks. Backing away just as much as he could for even just a millisecond more of breathing room as his blades and lackluster defenses were battered by the Jedi.

But it was not hopeless for Reagan, not yet. From his family he was more than familiar and disdainful of physically demanding power attacks of Form V. Eventually he used his two blades to intercept and bind against Jasper’s own. "Such strength for a little man. I Hope you're not compensating for something." Reagan needlessly taunted through a toothy grin. As warm and cool hues illuminated their bodies in the bind. Using his height and the leverage it provided to his benefit. Although he still struggled against the Jedi’s fully cybernetic arm against his own, even while channeling the darkside into his body. In the bind he didn’t need to fully overpower Jasper, just create enough of an opening. Trying to bend and turn the lightsaber blades out and away from each other before utilizing an often overlooked strength of Ataru.

The whole body was a weapon, not just the blades. Pairing that with the technique of Jar’Kai could make an individual well adept at coordinating their other natural weapons in combat. After trying to create an opening Reagan pulled his knee up before striking out with his leg. Slamming his foot square into Jasper’s chest with a solid hard kick. All just to try and knock back the Jedi and create an opening for himself.