Private Run and you Die Tired

[Corso Fanratta]

tag Hans Rennagen

Corso has only been with the fleet for a week and he already dreaded every morning. After initial assessments and the fact, he had already built a lightsaber he was granted permission to assume the rank of Knight Errant. This caused him to draw negative attention from the other mentors and they were quick to identify his lackluster combat ability. Every day during drill he was singled out, and every time he was beaten down in front of his peers. His body covered in welts, scrapes, and his left rib had a nasty purple bruise he found himself unable to sleep.

As he replayed each failure in a lightsaber duel he would punish himself through elevated push-ups. A set of 10 for each embarrassment he faced in front of his course. He wondered if it was due to the embarrassment he may have caused his master in Tatooine. Or maybe the wise outcast knew that he needed some more martial prowess to become well rounded. Corso did not expect to be thrown into another environment where he was the tool of a larger organization. These negative thoughts brought back unwanted memories of Corellia....

He had to get them to stop. Donning his training uniform he decided a run across the decks of the battleship would help. Attaching his lightsaber to his left-hand side he began to do his run.

"Inadequate," the grizzled Knight veteran called out as he took an elbow to his nose.

As the thought came across his mind's eye he ran harder, his heart racing. A trail of moisture followed him before he arrived at one of the training decks. Heart still racing he began to practice his forms. Becoming more desperate with each swing, he ignored the strain he was putting his body under. Another flash shot through his mind, this morning when he tried to go for the attack and the repost forced his lightsaber to go flying. "Maybe Knight Errant Fanratta will surrender his blade to the very terrorist he was sent to eliminate," the class laughed, they always laughed...

Corso let out a scream as he began to swing, he was even more surprised as his yellow lightsaber beam flashed as it made contact with another lightsaber. He was too caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize that someone else was approaching him. His face flushed, he was out of balance and should have sensed the new arrival stupid Corso, you did it again....

"KARK! I am so sorry I didn't see you," he said as he retracted the lightsaber and lowered it to a submissive ready position the way he was taught to do when disarming the saber while training.

 

[Hans Rennagen]

Corso Fanratta

Hans moved through the halls at a hurried pace towards his old arch-nemesis: the flight simulator. Passing the training decks he saw an intriguing sight.

A young knight practicing his lightsaber drills with incredible passion. Hans could tell this one of the new recruits. Hans approached to join in, but evidently startled the kid.

This recruit was a lot like Hans had been. Passionate. Maybe this kid was fighting for something personal as well. Most of the knights were.

"No worries. You're Corso right? One of the new recruits?" Han stretched his hand out for a shake if Fanratta was willing to take it. "I've seen you around. I'm Hans, well... Knight-Errant Rennagen mostly. Though you can call me whatever you feel like." Hans had become fairly relaxed when it came to names around here. With every instructor yelling at him by his surname, it was a nice change of pace to be called Hans, he was sure this recruit felt the same way. Especially after the way Hans had seen this boy's teachers treat him. Hans knew all too well how serious the Knight instructors took training.

"So the instructors are hard on you, right? That's why you're in here flailing your lightsaber around?"

 

[Corso Fanratta]

Corso seemed suspicious at first and with a slight pull of the force Hans came off as genuine.

He held out a calloused hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you judging by the fact you know my name I guess I built some notoriety," he said with a genuine smile. "I had a head start due to training with a sect of philosophers who have a different perspective of the force. I have good control over it but my combatives especially saber work leave much to be desired," he said honestly.

"You can call me Corso, I feel like these regimented formalities exist to strip us of who we really are," he said thoughtfully before moving to a more casual stance.

"Now that statement about the instructors that's a fact. If I didn't have a connection to the force I would assume they were hazing me but I never felt anything malicious, it was more out of concern. I felt that they didn't want any liabilities in the battlefield, a liability gets you killed," the last thought wasn't his own words but something he gleaned from one of the knights.

"There is something I know for certain though Hans despite my deficiency in ability there's only on way and forward. You seem to know your way around a fight, would you like to spar? This training I feel gets better if you have someone to practice, you know pretend like it's the real thing," the whole concept of sparing was alien to him but there was a merit in the concept.

tag Hans Rennagen

 

[Hans Rennagen]

Corso Fanratta

"Sure, Kid... let's spar." Hans was eager to see what this kid was made of, and why the instructors were so hard on him. The truth was Hans was a little out of his element. He was glad for the opportunity to avoid the flight sim, but he didn't even have his shield on him. This would be old fashioned single-saber combat.

"And yeah, the instructors have good reason, but it can be a little much. We're in a war after all so when it comes to getting us prepared they pull no punches. Most of us have quite the... uh.. personal stake in this fight, mostly bad histories with the Sith. If i didn't have one... well I probably wouldn't have made it through my training this far." Hans talked as he moved to take his position across from his new sparring partner. He took a standard stance, nothing fancy. Something the kid might recognize as Shii-Cho.

"As for the real thing? I still don't think I'm used to it. The instructors will give you hell but the Sith Lords... they're another kind of hell. Anyway, why don't you take the first swing."

Hans braced and held his saber tight with both hands, as he always did when he was fighting without his shield. With some luck, Corso might be able to get Hans off balance. As he waited for the attack, he wondered,

"So who are these philosophers you trained with? Like Jedi?"

 

[Corso Fanratta]

@Han Rennagen
The thought of the Sith reminded him of another kind of evil. Some enemies suppressed but he remembered the hungry nights after a long slicing spree and not making quota. Oh the hangers made sure you would remember to pay them their daily goal.

“Like the Jedi the Sith completely lacks balance and they become their worse selves. Hans the Sith are not the only evil that exist in this galaxy,” Corso activated his ornate saber the yellow beam and emerging with a hiss.

He recognized the stance Hans took. He knew the fundamentals of fencing but his masters realized early on that Corso was quick. He titled his left hand so the blade was pointed parallel to the tip of his shoulder blade, this was obviously one of the most basics stances of Ataru.

“Like the Sith the Jedi have become a cult. My following predates both orders, they see both the light and the dark as equally important. But the most important is the center which is balance, with balance all things come together. There is no creed, just scholarly study and open mindedness when it comes to various force philosophies, they’ve been lacking in the warrior arts though,” he said thoughtfully.

Corso rolled forward and like he was trained and opened up with a slash. His technique had the hidden intent but doubt clouded his follow through. He lacked balance in his style, barely made his post slash tumble. He felt the repost as his opponent resisted with the loud crackle of the beams connecting.

“Kark,” he murmured as he ran toward his opponent again this time he would channel the force to leap in the air, again sloppy execution as he plummeted down toward his openent. The move was easily telegraphed, the outward facing blade now positioned inward, his aim was to cut across his oppenents chest. Despite the sloppy technique there was one thing that was apparent. Corso was fast and if he knew what he was doing he would be a deadly opponent.

 

[Hans Rennagen]

"You sound like a true Knight of the Empire." He said as they locked blades. He didn't recognize Fanratta's Order from the description, but they sounded reasonable, like the knights.

"I started to train with the Jedi about a decade ago. The Silvers that is. A couple of masters were out in the Tion Cluster fighting the Sith, same as me. In hindsight I'm glad I didn't become one of them, seeing what they are now. I thought the Imperial Knights were the last level-headed order of of force-users. Seems I'm wrong."

Hans pushed back with ease, and the younger knight took a second charge. Hans had never taken to force-assisted acrobatics. Jumping, running around the battlefield... never really his thing. When it came to countering it he had some experience from battle, but even then it was less of a conscious reaction and more of an involuntary movement. As his opponent's blade came down towards him, he felt the force pull him aside in a jerky motion.

His reflexes had kept him alive in the field before, but never without momentarily breaking his focus.

Now at the side of his sparring partner, he came in for a simple Shii-cho slash, two-handed, hard, and unfocused. Blocking it would require some strength, but dodging the heavy swing would be all too easy.

Corso Fanratta

 

[Corso Fanratta]

tag Hans Rennagen

As his partner dodged the attack Corso failed to anticipate what to do in regard to a missed landing. With a loud thud he hit the belly flopped beside his partner. Quickly, he rolled to his back just in time to see his partner go for a powerful swing.

Out of reflex he wildly swung his saber to parry the attack but he knew he didn’t commit enough strength to block it. Instead he turned off his saber allowing his opponent to swing without any resistance. As the beam was about to hit he shot his hips up and managed a simple back roll to dodge the strike.

“I appreciate this Hans I really do,” Corso seemed more confident now after their brief exchanges.

“The Jedi stole the name of my philosophy or tried to modernize it. I hail from the Je’daii, and my homeworld is currently occupied by the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi they value consider us taboo...” Corso gripped his saber tightly and reignited his saber.

He made another sprint this time more confident. Aiming for the left side of Hans he rolled past him this time combining his momentum with a slash aiming the side of his ribs. Corso was still sloppy in technique but seemed to become more focused as his confidence incresded

 

[Hans Rennagen]

As expected, Corso avoided the heavy swing. The kid's split second deactivation of his saber intrigued Hans, who recognized it as basic Trakata.

"I'm glad to help, we need the best we can get. Of course there are more ways to do that than the instructors know."

Corso made his next move, a rolling slash. Hans brought his saber down to his side with both hands to parry, pointing the blade towards the ground (visualizer). The lightsabers collided with a hiss and a crackle, and Hans side-stepped.

"Not bad." He chimed, in reference to the last move. "I've never heard of these Je'daii, but I'm not really surprised what's happened. The Jedi aren't bad. I've fought against them and alongside them, and I know that they fight for the same things as us. They're just... misguided."

Hans took a defensive stance, blade angle 45 degrees. Good for blocking the head-on attacks his opponent seemed to favor. It was as good as he'd get without his shield.

Corso Fanratta

 

[Corso Fanratta]

tag Hans Rennagen

The crackle of sabers colliding was the first to alert him that Hans parried the attack. Heart pumping he deactivated his saber again this time rolling in the same direction so he wouldn't fall again.

"I agree with your assessment, they seem less likely to engage in blatant ill-will than the sith. Sometimes their harsh adherence to "rule-following," can land you in a bad spot," he said thoughtfully before reigniting his saber. Something to note his hands seemed to shake less as he stood in a ready Ataru stance. "At some point, I will need to take a leave of absence to go to Tython... There are 9 temples important to my order, each one has a trial which when passed brings you closer to balance. I hope the geo-political side of the NIO stands favorable. The last thing I want is for the GA to make it difficult for me to complete my journey," the fabric of his training uniform began to ripple as Corso gathered the force.

With another swift motion, he moved with a blur. This time dashing straight towards Hans, he swung his saber toward him, Corso knew that Hans was in the perfect position to completely parry him. Switching off the saber right when they were about to collide he positioned the hilt past his blade and ignited the yellow beam. He then pulled back in an attempt to disarm his opponent. His form was nearly flawless except for the timing with the disarm attempt. Corso left himself right open with a body strike or to be grappled.

"These Jedi who were in the Tion cluster, are you from that part of the Galaxy too," Corso asked he found it easier not to stress or anticipate physical harm by exchanging conversation.

 

[Hans Rennagen]

"That sounds like a difficult task, but knowing the enemy is half the battle."

Hans could see and fell his opponent channeling something, although he couldn't predict what. In a flash of motion Corso was upon, using more Trakata to slide his blade past Hans' own. As the boy pulled on Hans' saber, catching him surprised, it began to slip from his hands. He turned the blade off before it could fall and hurt either of them. The hilt landed on the floor at their feet.

Hans didn't want to distance himself from his fallen weapon, so another side step of leap back was out of the question. He'd been in this position before though. It was the battle of Yinchorr all over again. Hans balled his fist, and with it the force energy that surrounded it. Hans then gave a simple push of his hand forward and the force would knock Corso back, long enough at least for Hans to retrieve his weapon.

Hans smirked as he launched his force push at the young Je'daii, then proceeded with their banter. "To answer your question... yes. I'm from Raxus. Doesn't seem like I'll get back their anytime soon... not without the full might of the New Imperial Military behind me anyway. So is Tython your home? I'm only a little familiar with the world."

Corso Fanratta