Fated Dual on Nar Shaadda

[Masaru Varga]

The Kintan arena on the moon, Nar Shaadda, was from an era almost forgotten. Back in the days of the Old Republic, the place was controlled by Nikto gangs. That is all history that no one truly cares about nowadays, at least that was the case for Masaru. That was all history, and it was history that didn’t affect him. Masaru was surprised that the place was still up and running when he first found this place, especially since it wasn’t the most known place of interest. The mercenary was glad that he found the arena instead of hunting down renown bounty hunters on the moon to fight. He was especially glad to have found the place recently. Masaru was grounded on this crime infested moon after someone stole his ship and didn’t have enough credits to buy his way off it. That wouldn’t have bothered him much if he didn’t take out all the competition since then, at least what he’s encountered so far. No one here matched is skill, nor his strength, and especially not his iron-clad will. Even though he didn’t have the credits to take care of his equipment, his opponents still couldn’t take him down. It was frustrating and was no real test against him. Even so, there wasn’t much else that interested the warrior. Drinking wasn’t an activity he enjoyed without good company, and getting involved with the gangs to a serious degree wasn’t Masaru’s style.

Masaru was preparing for his next arena battle, checking his sword and rifle. His rifle was in decent shape, but the punishment his sword has taken over the last week was beginning to show. Usually, this wouldn’t bother Masaru. Now however was not the time to lose another sword since the man needed to save his credits to get a new ship. However, he might not have much a choice if his weapon breaks, always preferring a bladed weapon over a blaster or bare hands. Now that he thought about it though, Masaru didn’t mind beating down his next few opponents with his strength alone. Pushing the thought aside for now, the warrior began to put on his armor. Unfortunately, the armor he was wearing was also being wore down. He would have to deal with it though. Things could be worse off, so the man wasn't trying to complain. Masaru had put on everything except the helmet.

When he came to Nar Shaadda, he was supposed to obtain his credits from the contractor and leave, but things didn’t go that way. It baffles him that he made a mistake like this. Usually, he's more careful than this. The mistake was in the past now though, and he would make sure he wouldn't make such a rookie mistake ever again. Until he finally acquired enough credits to leave, he would just chalk this situation up as a test of his survival skills.

Masaru finally walked out into the arena, the cheering of the crowds giving him a headache. They only served to distract him from the matter at hand, but he would give them their show. The warrior zoned them out and allowed the fire within him to burn in preparation. Nothing would break his focus on the opponent that would soon enter.


[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

Sneak onto Nar Shaadda they said, it would be a simple mission they said, a chance to get used to the planet, to make contacts and start building up your own network to help you in the future. It had all seemed so simple, to make so much sense in the safe comfort of Silver's Rest, a simple in and out mission, and no-one would even know she'd been there. Of course, there was no way life was actually going to be so nice to her was there. No, random passenger could survive on the streets of Nar Shaadda so easily, no one who had never been here could be anything less than easy prey for the denizens of the moon. Since she'd arrived she'd been propositioned twice, the attempted robbery had found her thrice, and one thug had tried to knock her out and carry her off on the street. If this was the fate that had awaited her, well she'd feared for the innocent who had run away lured by the mystery of Nar Shaddaa. On the other hand, it had given her a place to start her investigation if they were so willing to approach someone in the middle of the street then surely someone had seen it.

It had taken her a week of inching around, question and following trails to find a trace of them, a week of questions that had finally brought her here. The Kintan arena, one of the more famous names on the planet when it came to blood sports and entertainment, and a cover for much that went below. After all, who would suspect the simple bets of a betting arena might have a more nefarious purpose. She could understand all that, could understand all the theory behind it...so why was she here? The Jedi blinked against the bright sunlight as she took a deep breath, striding out into the arena as the roar of the crowd assaulted her ears. To locate the gang without being suspicious hse had to make contact, get in with them, and to do that she had to offer them something they wanted. A spectacle. She'd dyed her hair black, chosen an outfit that she was sure the crowd could get behind. the rough metal weapons a pale mockery of her own, stored safely aboard her ship. It was just the lightsaber, tucked away safely her only nod to her true identity, a link and weapon in case she'd need it in the future.

Well, time to get started.

[member="Masaru Varga"]

 

[Masaru Varga]

Masaru watched as his opponent entered the arena, trying to see if he could figure out what their strengths and weaknesses could be. His opponent was different from the one's he had faced in the arena before. Most of the people he's fought had been brutes who only relied on their strength, their physique usually being an indicator of such. These types of fighters weren't the only one's that entered the arena but were the majority of what Masaru fought. The person in front of him was different though. She looked nimble and the mercenary suspected that she was more dangerous than one would believe at first glance.

The announcer of the arena began to get the crowd fired up, talking about the two fighters in the arena. Masaru awaited for the announcer to finish and faced the woman in front of him. The mercenary smiled at her, hoping that she would prove more a challenge than the others he's faced so far.

"Do not hold back because I surely will not."

His words weren't meant to be intimidating, but was to make sure his opponent wouldn't hold back their blade. This arena was meant for people show show their strength in battle, not to prey on the weak like some think they can do. Many have died because they were overconfident.

The announcer was finally finished speaking and initiated the fight, pronouncing his usual "Let the battle begin!". As the crowds cheering increased, Masaru gripped his sword with both hands and closed the remaining distance between him and his opponent, bringing his sword up over his head and bringing it down towards the other warrior.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

"Do not hold back because I surely will not."

Sometimes it was simply that easy. There was a man with a sword how was trying to kill her, that was the long and short of it, nothing more and nothing less. Except that wasn't true really, there was a lot more going on here than just a simple life and death fight, there was an innocent life on the line that meant she needed to win. Not that she ever had any plans of loosing in the first place. If the man wanted a fight then she'd give him one that he wouldn't soon forget.

The girl swung her blade up into a salute as [member="Masaru Varga"] closed with her, waiting until she heard the whistling of his blade before she took a step back and to the side, angling her shield out to catch and turn his blow. As it was, she still felt it, the metallic ring of his blade against her shield, the reverberations shaking her arm as her own blade dropped into a slash, cutting at his body at his waist as the girl twisted on one foot, swinging her entire body into the blow. "I wouldn't dream of holding back on you." It wouldn't be right to disrespect any opponent that way.

 

[Masaru Varga]

Masaru felt the impact of his sword hitting his opponents shield, the strike being redirected away from her. Masaru grunted, the maneuver taking him off guard slightly. The attack that came afterwards was fast and probably would have cut him down if he wasn't focused. Using the momentum from his initial advance and the redirection of his blade from his opponents block, Masaru rolled to the side just in time to avoid the powerful strike to his body. Even though he dodged the attack, he could feel the power behind it. He was realizing that the person he faced was more than quick and nimble.

Rolling back on his feet in a crouched position, he planted his feet on the ground so that he didn't slide away from his opponent too much. The warrior quickly positioned the tip of his blade towards his opponent and launched himself forward to try and thrust the blade into her side.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

So, this guy was maybe a little more skilled than she thought he would be, it was obvious in his movements, in the way he managed his recovery from her first attack and the stance he fell into as he thrust his blade at her. She'd left herself overexposed with that first cut, to sure of herself and her ability to win. Her footing wasn't perfect, unsteady and uneven as she let the blade in her hands drop down, taking a step towards him and to the side, a metallic sound echoing through the arena as the metallic blade ground along one another, sparks flying as she turned the movement into a weak parry. It wasn't pretty, not a move that she'd ever want to show one of her instructors but the blade missed piercing her side, just slicing through the leather armour of her top, a thin cut into her skin as she was past, spinning around to kick at her opponent in passing as she reset her stance, sword resting on top on her shield facing him.

[member="Masaru Varga"]

 

[Masaru Varga]

His opponent was in an position that left her open and hard to guard against the thrust, yet she was able to defend against it none-the-less. Not only that, but she was also able to follow up with an kick that was strong enough to get him off balance, forcing him to roll back again. The impact of the kick was more than what he was expecting.

This time, he stood up straight and held his sword back in front of him. Masaru gave his opponent a little grin and a shake of his head, giving her props on the attack. His life might be on the line but if he had to die, he would mind it being to someone who knew what they were doing.

Realizing that he wouldn't be able to get past her defenses easily, he knew that carelessly attacking her would be the end for him. From what he could tell, his opponent didn't have that many weaknesses.

The Mercenary decided to stop thinking and just see where the battle went, moving in on his opponent again. He decided that the best course of action was to give his opponent no space to swing their sword properly, so he quickly charged in and tried to bash her shield with his shoulder, putting all his weight behind the tackle in hopes of pushing his opponent. His head was slightly down so that it would be difficult to stab at it, but the rest of his body wasn't so guarded, his back wide open to attack. Masaru didn't mind though, committed to putting his all in this battle. If he had to endure a bit of pain, then so be it. This was the battle he sought for after all.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The man's recovery was faster than she'd hoped it would be, but about the time she'd expected, he was no slouch and despite herself Asaraa felt herself enjoying this conest. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, head inclining slightly on a gesture of respect even as her baredteeth conveyed a threat. It was hard for Asaraa to quantify what she was feeling right now, the adrenaline coursing through her body made it hard to think beyond the present, beyond the situation she'd found herself in. It was easy, all too easy, to understand why people found themselves addicted to this, hooked onto this feeling of excitement and freedom, if it wasn't for her training she might have found herself borne away on the feeling as well.

Instead she took a deep breath, not denying hte feelings, the emotions coursing through her, but not letting them overwhelm her either. Blue eyes watched [member="Masaru Varga"] closely, watching for any twitch of his eyes or flex of his muscles that might signal his intent, that might show what he was planning to do. Only, she might have been reading too much into the situatio. Instead of a feint, trying to trick her into over extending herself her opponent charged straight at her head bowed and shoulder leading his path. The pink-haired Jedi barely had time to react, to think about the situation, her body reacting on pure instinct as she dropped her shield down and took a step towards him, angling to the side. Even with the preparation she felt the impact of his body like a ton of bricks slamming into her, driving the air out of her lungs in a pained gasp as the edge of her shield was driven back into her chest. Her move had, however, placed her just off centre of his line of attack and even as the shield was being driven into the girl's body she man's strike was spinning her, light glinting of her swordblade as it lashed out at Masaru's unprotected back.

 

[Masaru Varga]

The stinging feel on his back forced Masaru to flinch, the attack easily cutting through the badly kept armor and reaching his skin. He could feel the warm blood begin to run down his back. The man dropped back away from her, ignoring the pain he was staring to feel. His tackle might have done a small amount of damage but it didn't leave any openings in her defense like he'd hope. She was strong and fearless in the face of danger, a peerless fighter who Masaru had the pleasure of facing.

"This....is what I've been looking for. A worthy opponent to push me to my limits!"

The mercenary said this as he took a few steps back from his opponent and prepared to send a flurry of attacks towards them. Because of the injury he now had and how much energy he put into his tackle, Masaru didn't have much time to gain the advantage. His swings were quick and strong, his plan to overwhelm his opponent and open up their defenses before they could take advantage of his draining energy. This wasn't easy, but Masaru grit his teeth and fought through the pain, his resolve unbending.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

Asaraa backed off a few paces, enough of a gap opening up between the two fighters for her to risk lowering he shield, letting it rest at her side for a moment as she let her gaze drop to the thick red liqud that even now dripped off the edge of her blade to stain the floor of hte arena. She could feel an ache in the flesh of her chest where the edges of her shield had slammed into her, rolling her shoulders as she tried to work the tenseness out of joints. There was the temptation in the back of her mind, to reach out, to touch the force, letting it flow through her like a wave that would wash away the aches and refresh her. It was how she normally fought, that invisible energy supporting her, to allow her to reach heights and skills that far outstripped most normal combatants. The problem was, that felt a little cheap here, a little like cheating, using an unfair advantage that the man had no way of matching. so, the Jedi ignored the voice, pushing it to the back of her head as she bounced up oher het toes, bringing her shield up as a predator's smile flashed behind it,

"Well then, I'll try to leave you with a pleasant memory to hold onto when I beat you."

Despite the confident words the girl found herself falling back into the older man's assault, her shield coming up to cover her body as she fended off his strikes, the metallic clang of sword against shield as she let him push her back around the Arena. She could feel each strike jarring into her arm as the relentless assaults continued. Gritting her teeth the girl ducked her head, pushing her shield out in front of her as she stepped forward, the point of her blade stabbing out at him as she danced from side to side, trying to stay ahead of his blade.

[member="Masaru Varga"]

 

[Masaru Varga]

The female warrior's words amused Masaru, noting the confidence she had in this battle. He thought that confidence would wane as he continued his assault, but that didn't seem to be the case. While the strong strikes seemed to have some affect on her, they didn't stop her ability to find the perfect opportunity to strike. As he swung his blade again, the mercenaries opponent ducked the attack, stepped forward and stabbed at him.

Ignoring the pain for a short while, Masaru swung his sword a few more times with good technique, but his opponent's dance like movements put her one step ahead of his attacks. The pain began to set in now, his knees about to give out. He began to fall to the ground but brought his blade to the ground so his knees wouldn't touch the ground. his pride wouldn't allow him to fall. Even so, the mercenary was at the mercy of his opponent now. The will to fight still shined in his eyes, but his body was having difficulties carrying out his warrior instincts.

Masaru's hand instinctively went to the wound on his side, cursing under his breath when he noticed what he was doing. He didn't like showing weakness to opponents. Blood was running down his back and side from the wounds he had obtained, but it wasn't anything he couldn't survive if he wasn't in this arena for too long. His muscles wouldn't obey him as he tried to push himself up, legs resisting his commands for the time being. He still had some fight in him though, having enough strength to strike if there was an opportunity to do so. Seeing his opponents skill made him think that they wouldn't give him that opportunity. It seemed as though this could be his end, but the smile he had and fire in his eyes said other wise. Masaru just wasn't one to give up.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

Her opponent tottered, for a moment, slumping down towards the arena floor before he managed to catch himself with his sword, pushing himself to his feet. The girl shook her head, an annoyed hiss escaping her lips which turned into a pained cough as her shield hand came up to probe at her bruised ribs. She was really going to feel this one tomorrow, and yet, despite the cut her opponent seemed more than happy to continue the fight, to press on with the engagement. A sigh escaped her lips as Asaraa took a step back, settling her shield infront of her as her blade came up to rest on the top edge of her shield as she peered at Masaru down the length her blade at the warrior. "You know, no-one out there would blame you for stepping back, taking the loss and going to see a medic now before it's too late," her head nodded at the red line of the cut in his flesh, "otherwise that's just gonna ebb and drain and slow you down." She had to at least try to convince him to step back, to end this without any further conflict, without anyone else getting hurt.

[member="Masaru Varga"]

 

[Masaru Varga]

The words that came from his opponent took him off guard. Most people who came to the arena didn't have the tendency to show mercy, and the few that did regretted doing so later. Masaru himself has let people leave in previous matches but found that most of them would try their luck at killing him on the streets of Nar Shaadda. One of his eyebrows lifted up, curiosity showing on his face.

"You do understand that showing mercy to your opponent may cause problems for you later, right? I'm not like the thugs who are out for blood once I lose, but I am a warrior who believes in self improvement. If you let me go I assure you that we'll fight again some day, whether it be in an arena like this one or on the field of a high stakes battle."

Masaru was no fool. If his opponents mind wasn't changed, he would take this opportunity to live. The only problem was that his warrior pride made it difficult for him to just give up. A death that came from a worthy warrior was better than dying to a disgraceful thug later, which seemed likely if he stayed on this planet for too long.

"As I said, I won't be looking for your head if I leave this place alive but I will be looking for a rematch. So you may want to reconsider."

The mercenary pushed himself up so he could stand, facing his opponent again. He had his sword in hand but didn't have the energy to defend himself properly. If he were to die, it would be on his feet.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

The girl took a step back, letting her blade and shield drop, not quite willing to leave an opening, but unwilling to stay as on guard as she had been, before. It didn't seem like he planned to attack her but it was foolish to leave yourself open to a potential attack. "They always say that you should judge someone by their enemies." Asaraa's lips quirked up into a smile as she nodded her head at the man standing opposite her. "If I'm going to be judged by an enemy, I'd rather it be one who was coming after me because I let them live." The small smile morphed into a larger grin, "Besides," a challenging light danced in her eyes, "If I'm gonna be hunted down by someone, then isn't it better that it be someone I know I can beat?"

The girl span her blade around her wrist before offering [member="Masaru Varga"] a challenging smile, "If you want to come at me and try again, just tell me when." So, maybe the taunt wasn't the best thing to do, but it was expected and if she was honest it made her feel a little better. And, besides, she wasn't going to be here for very much longer, hopefully.

 

[Masaru Varga]

Masaru frowned as he listened to his opponents words, a little stunned by her words. Some would take this chance to strike out one last time, even though she wasn't letting her guard down. Most would let their pride kill them in this moment with one last attack. Masaru's next move was much different though. As Masaru saw the smile on his opponents face, the taunting smile that would infuriate most warriors, he began to laugh. He found this situation quite amusing.

The Warrior grabbed his side as the pain began to creep in again, stopping his laughter. He pushed himself to stand, dropped his weapon, and reached out with his fight hand. His laughter may have stopped, but the amusement that could be seen from his grin was still there. There was no hostility in his eyes.

"Masaru Varga. May I have the name of my new rival?"

He began to notice that the crowds cheers turned into confusion but he could care less about that. He would admit defeat and leave as soon as he was done talking with the victor. He didn't know when he'd have a chance to obtain the victor's name again, so now was the time.

[member="Asaraa Vaashe"]

 

[Asaraa Vaashe]

Even as the man grabbed at his side Asaraa was flowing forward in an easy glide, one hand slipping around his waist as the other grabbed for his arm pulling it over her shoulders as she reached out with the force. It was only a small gesture, one she didn't even think about, enough to relieve the man of some of his pain as she started pulling him towards the entrance to the arena. "You're not gonna know much if we don't get you to a doctor to clean out that would, force only knows what kinda infection you'd get if we just left it." The Jedi twisted her head around, letting her gaze fall on Masaru momentarily as she shook her head, "Your rival huh? Well then I'm," she almost started, uncertainty rearing it's ugly head for a moment. She was supposed to be undercover, supposed to be making herself known, but it didn't feel right to just throw him a false name. The Silver Shadows would probably leave her ears ringing over this one when she got home. "Asaraa, I'm Asaraa, nice to meet you Masaru."

[member="Masaru Varga"]​