Second chance or Regressive action?

[Kenrath]

Mindabaal


It had been a long time since Vengeance had been on Mindabaal. Not since the wedding and as a result the Coronation of Queen who also happened to be Sith. That had been a good day. For several reasons none of which he had ever spoken about. Today he was here for a much different reason. Today he was not at any Palace attending a party. Instead he was as far away from civilization as anyone could get. One a Galactic scale the planet had not been reclaimed by a Galactic power since the collapse of the One Sith. Making it for the moment a safe place to have this particular meeting.


He stood in a small building..........one that appeared to have been a modest home in the distant past. Now it was empty but still sound in construction and utilities that still worked well enough for a short term stay. He was waiting on the arrival of [member="Zesiro"] a wayward soul devoid of purpose and use that had crash landed back into his notice a week earlier while he was cooling off on Manaan. He didn't know the how or why but then again this very meeting was to find out the answers to though questions.

Zesiro physically was built like a Zeltronian lady of the night. Unfortunately mentally to say she was constantly found lacking was an understatement. Lacking in ambition, drive, and talent. Very poor qualities for a woman who in their very first encounter claimed to want to be Sith. Perhaps time and steeled her resolve in that aspect and perhaps not.

Today they wold find out only this time he would not leave the evaluation up to an Apprentice to test her mettle. No this time he would evaluate her himself and deem her worthy or not.

 

[Zesiro]

Zesiro had met a man probably going on a year ago now on Nubia. She had thought at the time she had been drawn to him, but it was the woman he had been with. The two of them had met again just a week ago. Over the past year, she had thought of him quite often and how she feared him. During their last meeting, he had given her an opportunity and one the young sith wasn't going to pass up. In theory, her fear would make her stronger and she desired this.

Having been told a time and location, she brought her ship into the atmosphere of Mindabaal and the coordinates given to her by the man now known as Marcus. She had only changed a little since that first meeting, but had grown only a little. She was still without a real purpose. With an offer of training put out by him, she piloted her craft and brought it in for a landing.

Shutting down, Zesiro walked off her craft to find him already waiting for her. Taking a few breaths, she walked over to him. Gone was the trampy walk she had displayed when they first met along with the clothes. However, she was still quite graceful in her movements.

Unsure of how to address him, she raised her eyebrows before speaking.

"How do you want me to call you?"

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance turned has she entered ignoring her question. He gave her a once over look before he spoke.

"Why are you here?"

A single question uttered towards a single goal. To determine what if anything had changed since they last saw each other on Nubia. Was she still a lost cause or had she found purpose since that time. Her body language was different as was her choice of attire. In his eyes it was in fact a change for the better but really gave no indication of her worthiness.

"The last time you were in my presence you claimed to covet power but lacked the conviction to see it through..............you were even shall I dare say paralyzed by fear."

He paused giving a little shrug.

"Not that is necessarily a bad thing. Many young and inexperienced hopefuls are first controlled by such emotions. That important part is what you do with them. Last time you ran..........this time what will you do?"

[member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

He turned, faced her and ignored her question. Instead he asked one of his own. He asked why she was here and then commented on her reaction on Nubia. She had learned what had gone wrong there and decided to make the change within herself to make up for it. Now a second chance had been given to her and she stood in front of it.

"I came to face my fear and learn from it."

Her words would indicate she feared him, but that she felt ready to face that fear and overcome it within herself. She wasn't sorry for how she acted on Nubia, more embarrassed by it.

Raising her chin slightly, Zesiro looked at Marcus.

"I plan to stay and see through what was a failure then."

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance nodded.

"Good."

He paused.

"Now last time you were to be tested you were tested by Anya. In truth that was to test her just as much as it was to test you. Seeing as how that didn't work out very well we are going to do something different."

He pulled a sword slowly...........his weapon of choice and looked back at her.

"You are going to attack. I need to know what your ability level is before I can know where to start with you. So when you are ready let's begin. You may use any technique you desire accept for offensive Force abilities."

He waited patiently for her to engage. To see what she did and how she lead off. Would she employ speed, strength, a combination of both or misdirection. Anything was possible.

[member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

Zesiro listened to what Marcus said and wondered why he even did such a test. When she faced off against Anya, the start had actually gone pretty well. That had changed when that Jedi showed up and went after her as well. That was when she chose to run. Facing off against both Anya and the Jedi would have been fatal and she wasn't ready to die then or now. Though she knew he could kill her easily, he held his hand. Instead choosing to test what she knew.

Sadly that wasn't much, but taking out her lightsaber, she listened to his instructions. She had very little formal training in using her saber, but knew many of the basics. He said she couldn't use offensive Force abilities and that was fine with her since she didn't know very many of them either. She really was a pathetic sith.

Igniting her saber, she held it left handed and close to her chest. Closing the short distance between them, she brought it up slightly to make a diagonal slash at his right shoulder. For now, she would keep it to only her saber. She knew more defensive Force abilities and could employ them if she needed.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Standing their calmly he waited until she began her slash towards his shoulder. He simply rotated his wrist bring his sword around and block her half hearted attack. It was truly a rookie move and he would be lying if he was not disappointed. He had expected more from her.

"Again."

He stood in the same spot his sword at the ready for her next attempt whatever that may be. He only hoped their would be more to it than her first attempt.

[member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

He had said she could use any technique to attack except the Force, taking a moment to think as her blade was easily blocked. Marcus stayed in the same spot and told her to attack again.

This time when she moved in, it was with jab at his right rib cage and her right shoulder at his upper torso.

It wasn't much, but it was more than she had tried before.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

Vengeance didn't even flinch. Stepping into the jab undoubtedly take most of the sting out of it he whipped the blade of his sword up and around swing it towards her left side the flat side of the blade aimed for her rib cage in a bit of a counter attack. He would do no more in that moment but look at her wondering if that was really all she had to give. If it was then she was a truly unimpressive specimen. She was almost too old for even the Sith to be considered for training. The older they got the harder it was to get them to unlearn everything they thought they new and to learn new things.

"Enough."

He paused.

"We could do this all day and I doubt you would improve any. I find it shocking you have managed to survive this long with such poor skills."

[member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

He blocked her next strike easily which she figured would happen and then oddly stepped into her shoulder jab and didn't move. Zesiro would have expected something to come from it and frowned in disappointment. Marcus said the two moves were enough and then mentioned he was surprised she had lived as long as she had with her poor skills.

She gave him a rather flat stare before speaking her mind on the matter.

"I have learned very little offensive skills. As displayed on Nubia, I know how to get away. I'm done running though."

Turning her lightsaber off, she still held it in her left hand.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

"You should have stuck to running."

There was no humor or amusement in his voice but even show he looked at her in thought for a moment.

"Each and every fight...........every battle is a contest of will. Off balance your opponent either mentally of physically and you will gain the upper hand even if only for a moment."

He paused.

"Now if you know your opponent intimately............which is to say you know personal information of an exploitable nature then mentally is an option. Other wise you are limited to only physical options."

He raised his sword once again but took a step or two back so Zes was out of range.

"To do this you must observe your opponents actions.........judge their defenses."

He slowly began to circle her moving to his left......her right....still speaking.

"Watch how they move. Look for hesitation....or if just a delayed response. Do they have one side over the other? All the things are important as they could potentially lead to an opening."

He stopped for a quick moment.

"If they favor their right side then they will potentially be slower to react to attacks from the left. Not always the case but true enough to be worth trying."


[member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

Marcus said she should have stuck to running, but Zesiro felt that it was stupid and dumb to resort to that every time. Yes it would keep her alive a little longer, but it usually came back to haunt her in one way or another.

Listening further into what he said, she nodded in understanding. To a degree, she already did much of what he said, just not very well. Generally speaking, her own physical attractiveness distracted people and that allowed her to off-balance them. In both mental and physical ways. It hadn't worked for her on Nubia though, Marcus had been able to see through it and not allow it to distract him. She had run then, but not now and the young sith looked at him.

He had stepped away from her and raised his sword, commenting on judging action and defences. As he started circling her, Zesiro watched him by turning her head.

"I have been taught very little of how to read people like that. Never was really taught how to fight offensively. Poor masters."

She kept her eyes on him, in case he made a move to attack her. The sith didn't think he would, but she wasn't sure with him.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

He shook his head.

"No one can teach you how to read people. It is an ability you have to figure out on your own over time and lots and lots of experience. I have been fighting for my life since I was 12 and I still some times read an opponent wrong here and there."

He paused spinning the sword in his hand until the blade was pointed down again.

"The most important thing is to never let your opponent get behind you.............or even cut an angle. If your opponent moves you move. If they start to circle then you circle them. Or at the very least turn not just your head but your whole body."

He paused.

"Never assume you are faster than your opponent and will always be able to react to their movements before they can cause harm."

He start to circle her again moving around to slip behind her right shoulder and around. He wanted to see if she understood what he mention and would react accordingly to his movements. Even as he did he kept talking.

"One thing that will always be apparent even to the untrained is levels of aggression. If your opponent is more aggressive than you are then you must appear passive but defiant to their taunts. In doing so you will force their hand and if it works cause them to be careless. If they are less aggressive then you must prod them into action. Force them out of their comfort zone and to act in a manner they are unaccustomed to."

[member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

In the few fights she had been in, she knew better than to allow her opponent to get around her. So as Zesiro listened to his words, she did start turning with him as he circled around her. Continuing to listen, she nodded at his points made.

If he moved faster than she could, he would wind up behind her like he intended, but the young sith did her best to keep up with him and not allow him behind her. Not having been fully trained in combat was one weakness she wanted to rectify. Never expecting herself to be master with her saber, she felt she have more knowledge of how to use it.

His mention of aggression was clear enough, but Zesiro had never been one to seek out confrontation. In the past, she had been taught to run, especially by her first master. If she wasn't sure of victory, that's what she did. If her fear was too great, she ran.

"Why would I want to prod somebody to react?"

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

He chuckled.

"Answer me this. What has inaction gotten you so far?"

He paused.

"You came seeking what? To keep doing the same thing you always have?"

He put the sword away and looked at her crossing his arms.

"What was my one rule Zesiro............the one thing I told not just you but the other man back on Manaan? You are a coward. By all accounts I should just kill you where you stand. Instead I gave you a second chance. Are you going to make me regret it?"

[member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

Marcus stopped circling her and Zesiro stopped turning to keep him in front of her. He asked her several very pointed questions and she looked at the ground before answering them, considering her answers.

Looking back up at him, her blue eyes met his and she answered.

"Nothing to the first one, but as you said I am a coward. I came to improve and not be such a chicken."

Resting her hands at her side, her saber still in her hand. The young sith was still scared of Marcus and that clouded her actions and reactions to him.

"You told us to follow your orders and do what you requested. I've done that today."

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

"Loyalty and Obedience. Do what I say, when I say it, and how I tell you to do it."

He paused.

"If I tell you to prod somebody to react then I mean prod somebody to react. Why is not important."

His center of gravity suddenly dropped a quarter of an inch before he shot forward at full enhanced speed his shoulder aimed for her stomach to first slam into her, then twist his body and dump her flat on her back before a foot would stomp into her stomach if what he was trying to do was successful. If he got not reason with her then more drastic measures would be required. It was necessary and unfortunate but it was the only way you could reach some people.

[member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

"And I did. You requested I attack you, but you didn't say how other than I couldn't use the Force in an offensive manner."

His next statement hit home and she nodded. Something she would need to remember in the future. Don't ask why. Given the opportunity, she would learn the proper times to do such actions and not be taking lessons on it.

When he moved, it was unexpected and faster than she could move out of the way. His move got her to her on her back, but the foot stomp missed since she was able to roll out of under it.

Rolling out of the way and regaining her feet, she gave Marcus a slightly dirty look. He had used one of her own tricks on her.

[member="Vengeance"]

 

[Kenrath]

He looked at her.

"The single unavoidable fact in life is death. Whether we meet that end tomorrow or ten years from now what matters is how you meet that end. Will you meet it on your feet fighting or on your knees begging."

He paused.

"I chose to go down swinging. How will you meet that fate?"

He turned moving outside into the open air pausing a moment to look up at the sky before turning back.

"If you are expecting life to be fair then you only set yourself up to be disappointed. Life will chew you up, spit you out, and kick you while you are down. There is no good, there is no evil, the lines of morality no longer exist. Your allies will turn on you, your enemies will stab you in the back just as quickly as they will look you in the eye."

He paused.

"You want to survive Zesiro? Then you need to be just as ruthless as you are calculating."

[member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

Marcus looked at her as he spoke.

"Very true, we are dying from the day we are born. Can't escape that fact."

Shrugging her shoulders as she replied, Zesiro watched him back. He turned to walk outside for a moment before turning to face her again. What he stated was true and life had certainly kicked her around a bunch over the years. Those she had thought of allies once had tried to have her killed or tried to do it themselves. She had gotten lucky and been able to avoid it each time.

"I do want to survive."

She looked at the ground for a moment before speaking again.

"Knowing I'm weak and pathetic, I don't see much of a future for myself. It's like I'm still a child and need to grow up."

[member="Vengeance"]