ToC: Nickolas Imura VS. Ashin Varanin

[Louise]

It was time for the Tournament of the Cauldron to export itself.

Try as hard as they did, there was just no way of perfectly replicating the different environments they required for round two of their grand event. They had made their unrealistic requests, demanding that they somehow replicate the climate and habitat of some of the most extreme planets in the galaxy. Mere simulations would not be good enough, it had to be real, it had to feel real and when enough slaves and scientists had perished at their hands for such impractical ineptitude it was only then that the Queens of Rattatak had decided that they were going to have to use the real thing.

The remaining contestants were to be shipped out, given the luxuries of celebrated gladiators and plenty of opportunity to rest and prepare for the next fights ahead.

Back at the Cauldron a multitude of screens were set up, surrounding the arena so that no detail could be missed of the now televised spectacle, the pit below for once completely devoid of action. Nothing would take the limelight from their glorious occasion.

The screens flickered to life...

Mon Gazza Speedway, Mon Gazza

No sarlaacs, I'm afraid.

The duel between the Human @[member="Nickolas Imura"] and Demi-God @[member="Ashin Varanin"] was to take place smack dab in the middle of the podracing circuit? That sounds pretty dull doesn't it? Dust and rock. Well, not entirely. There might be a surprise in it for you. What? Not one for the suspense?

Fine fine.

I mean, what good is a pod racing track without some pod racers? Oh yes.

Suicidal sorts, ones that would take their weights in spice had been shoved into podracers and let loose upon the course. Travelling the circuit up to their eyes in space meth. Think of it as an obstacle course, a bit of fun, a giggle for the masses. Just try not to end up like insects on the windscreen.

The spectators in the Cauldron remained unaware of the treat in store for the contestants. It was even unlikely that Nemene knew about that little twist. This was just a little fun, courtesy of Evelynn naturally. You can thank me later.

 

[Garza]

(Was told that I could give a shot at you because it would allow me to continue, Granted from Talith)

Apparently Krest was not going to fight Ashin. The woman who was there, had not even moved. I smiled as I watched the Holo from afar. Coming up to me, they wanted to give the woman someone to fight. And well the only person that came close. was myself. A guard walked up to me, and spoke, "Luck bastard, Get a speeder and travel to the Canyon. Your fight awaits you." I shook my head and walked away. Not only was I going to fight again, but fight a Master. THe odds were not in my favor. I grabbed my items and grabbed a speeder and sped off. Even among the roaring of my engine of the speeder, I could hear the drone of a camera droid following me. I looked at it with only a glance as I sped on. Knowing that the crowd back at the place would wonder why I was sent out there. I had no name, little to none experience, fighting a woman, that had most likely killed more people than there were on this desert planet.

Since I was already starting form a speeder, I may have had a slight advantage. Pulling the DD-12 blaster rifle I set it on the handlebars, and fired as I could now see the woman. In the middle of a Speeder race, that would mean that every so often that a speeder would be coming every so often, and more likely in packs. Which would be one of the many things I knew that I would have to dodge.

@[member="Ashin Varanin"], @[member="Krest"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Nickolas Imura"]

There was a time, not long ago, when she'd thrown too many stones into the water to read the ripples, shouted too loud to hear a whisper -- traded all her sensitivity and insight for power. She'd gone to the Dagoyan Masters for aid, and found herself redirected to the world of the Five Priestesses, in search of reliable insight.

This time, when the Force whispered, she heard it. A subtle dissonance. Sithspawn of an especially virulent kind, and not a kind with which she was familiar. Her head tilted, then she felt her eyes go wide as high-powered blasterfire slashed out from one of the oncoming speeders, a small one that had missed her notice when compared to the podracers. One of the latter whipped by behind her just as she drew her lightsabre. The yellow blade interposed itself between her and the incoming fire. Blaster plasma splashed everywhere, and the lightasbre jarred in her hands, but she stood firm until the speeder drew close and the concentrated fire grew too accurate.

Blasterfire traced her course as she leaped left, toward the stands. She duck-rolled and came up, throwing the sabre in a whirling sidelong arc that aimed to scythe into the side of the speeder, maybe even the kid's leg. An instant later she threw herself flat as a podracer stormed overhead. Its repulsors and jet wash buffeted her to the ground; Imura would have plenty of time to react and reposition while she was down. At a guess, he'd turn against the current and attempt to get her from behind with that blaster rifle. DD-12, initiated during her reign, mass-produced afterward -- something like a hundred, two hundred shots, plus microgrenades. The kind of weapon that ate Force-users for breakfast, and for the moment she was unarmed.

 

[Garza]

I smiled as I could even tell from here that the blaster was taking effect. it seemed that the amount of rounds never ended. I knew that as soon as i got close enough to the jedi that I would have to feel the wrath of the blade. I could see her jump, and thats when I knew that I would have to as well. In less time that it took to throw a lightsaber, and hit the speeder, My legs had popped up to the seat and pushed me up to do a backflip off of the speeder.

Landing on the ground, my body still wanted to go faster while I wanted to stop. Inertia at its best. I landed my feet to the ground, and angled my body to slide and at the last moment rolled myself to lessen the impact of going over 200 km/h. As the woman was Behind me by a few meters, and her back to me. taking this chance, my hand lashed out to call on the blaster rifle that had fallen to the ground during my jump. As soon as it came to my hand, I pressed the trigger. Unleashing another torrent of red blaster fire.

I was not one to know how to combat a lightsaber hand to hand wise. But I did know how to fight for my life. and right now, the best that I would do, was try to stay away from the saber for as long as I could.

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Nickolas Imura"] had just backflipped off a speeder going 200kph. A very high-performance vehicle would take something like eight seconds and eighty metres to stop from that speed, and Imura's knees were not high-performance vehicles in that sense. To call a blaster to his hand and fire accurately while handling that kind of speed -- well, that kind of task was probably beyond Ashin, let alone an apprentice.

A for effort, though.

She rolled and flailed like a legendary witch, and a spiced-up podracer's repulsor efflux flattened her to the earth as blasterfire ripped the air around her. When she came to her feet, lightsabre flicking back to her hand, Imura's fire was just starting to get accurate. Fully automatic the DD-12 might be, but it was still only one gun. The yellow lightsabre flared to life, and blasterfire reflected in all directions except for the stand. She was no Djem So artist, to send the bolts back at him, and didn't have the focus to spare anyway, not with podracers bearing down on her from behind.

The problem, the question, was left entirely in Imura's hands. He had a choice. He could continue firing, attempting to monopolize her attention and perhaps get her run over by a podracer. Or, perhaps, he could chuck a microgrenade her way and get to the side of the track, maybe find some cover, maybe even pull a coward's move and take up a position in the stands.

By the sounds of the oncoming podracers, he had about five seconds to decide.

 

[Garza]

There was one thing about me that I sometimes hated. And that was I liked a fair fight. Something like this was different. With speeders coming in every which direction, Most of my firing was really just trying to keep the woman away from me. She was years beyond what I could ever do. and most of my fighting was not about winning, but surviving the longest I could. So rather than being a Coward and take cover, which would also give her the chance to get close in on me, I kept firing. But I did something else unexpected.

My poisoned fist slammed into the ground. and with the limited powers that I knew of myself. A solid pillar about 2 feet wide in diameter, and 6 feet tall. rose behind the woman. Almost in that instant the speeder that was barring down on her, slammed into the rock and earthen pillar breaking into as many pieces as there were stars in the sky. The rock pillar was broken but for the most part stayed intact through the will of the force. My firing had stopped when I slammed my fist into the ground. but as now the speeder was taken care of, I would deal with the woman next.

The Blaster was too heavy to simply use with one hand, and Despite my use of the blaster, I only had three of the Grenades TOTAL EVER. Because I didn't have money to buy more rounds, and it was just a weapon that I grabbed from the ground during the sacking of the Sith Empire. I was still kneeling down as I could clearly see that the woman would be coming after me, or waiting for my move. Deciding that I would rather make my own move next. I would have to take this to a new height. Literally. I began to ran towards her. And as I took my 17th step, yes I even counted, I rose into the air as a second rock pillar, only smaller came out from under me and launched me a good 3 meters over the woman's height.

As I was up in the air. I decided that by firing my first of three grenades at her was smart. A solid Phomph sound was heard as I fired down at her. Accuracy was not truly needed for the second feature. For me in this instance it was more of a tactic of keeping her on her toes and way from me, yet still have her where she could survive against my waves of blaster fire.

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Nickolas Imura"]
Ashin felt her eyes go wide as Imura slammed that alchemized fist into the earth. Geomancy was a dangerous skill, and one that, in her experience, spent a great deal of power for a limited result.

Of course, good timing could amplify that result with the addition of, say, a podracer in the process of becoming a few tons of shrapnel.

Ashin went down on one knee as the majority of the podracer set itself on a trajectory over her head. Her main and primary power was a variant of Force Weapon, extended to defend her entire body. Not something she preferred to do for long periods of time, but for short bursts like this, a walk in the park. With the rest of her focus she grounded herself, anchored herself to the podracer track. The chunks of stone and podracer hit her like an avalanche, and she didn't move an inch.

The earth rumbled again, another pillar, and she started to rise as he leaped forward to use that pillar as a springboard. He began to arc over her head-

And thus began his duelling education. Because a move like that, telegraphed that obviously...well, Ashin took every ounce of power from her Force Weapon shield and her grounding, and exerted all her strength, focus, experience and will into sending a wide-angle Force-push straight up as he passed over her. She intended to put him into low orbit. The grenade detonated prematurely under the force of her trauma, an instant after it left the DD-12. Shrapnel carved two hot lines down Ashin's back, but the explosion was his problem, not hers.

 

[Garza]

And It backfired.

Was I wrong about her being better at fighting than I? yes. Still, The grenade blew up in my face, only for my body to start flying high into the air. There was no way that I could measure my height comparable to the woman's but lets just say that she looked like a bug from my point of view. During the blast I had lost the blaster rifle with the combined explosions man made, and from the force. It was long gone. No idea on where it was now, but I hoped that if I survived that I could get the blaster back.

Even in the air. I had to think quickly. I could feel myself flying higher and higher, as I did so, I drew my vibrosword. it was the only other weapon that I had, that I could actually use. I reached the zenith of the push, and then my cheeks puffed out from falling. I had to close my eyes and try to shut my mouth so they would not dry. Even as I fell. I knew that I would have to time myself right.

Letting my left hand try to push down, I tried with all of MY might to not send a push back at her, but just to keep myself from reaching maximum velocity. Eventually The pushes that I sent became stronger and stronger the closer I got to the ground. As there were more air molecules to be pushed down, the more I slowed down. But there was not really a change as I was already feeling drained after using two pillars, and multiple force pushes at full strength. deciding that the last 10 meters would be fine, I didn't use the force. I moved my body around to the best of my ability to land on my feet.

only to hear a loud pop as I landed. And Pain.
@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Nickolas Imura"]

She sidestepped, and another podracer whizzed by. Pale eyes narrowed as Imura landed from his long fall. 'Landed,' granted, might be too generous a term. She caught a hint of pain through the Force, and if it was powerful enough for even her notoriously insensitive self to feel it, he had to be in agony.

As someone who'd taken a lot of bad hits to the knee, she could empathize. She missed her gimer stick.

Limping toward him, she gestured, and his rifle levitated from where it had fallen. It hovered between them, pointed up. "Your arm. The alchemy -- may I have a sample?"

 

[Garza]

Landed was way to generous.

I felt like my leg was on fire that would never be put out. Landing I was crumpled on the ground like a sack of broken Veggies. Using my vibrosword like a cane I tried to pick myself up to face the woman. Her nearing me caused me to shake. Either from adrenaline or the feeling like I should start running for my life. But instead of putting the saber to my throat, She asked for my arm. Sure it looked wicked and I thought that by looking that I way I could get a few girls when I was dreaming of escaping, but never did I think that after a battle a woman wanted to see my arm.

I looked to my rifle that was floating with the barrel up instead of pointed at me. She had somehow recovered it. Now at my fullest height that I could get with a few broken bones in my right leg. I smiled and shook my head in disbelief. "Why?" Even as I spoke I winced from somehow hitting my chest. Though I knew that my chest would be bruised, it was minor to the multiple fractures in my knee and leg. "I mean, no one has ever asked for a sample so......"

I kind of left it off for her to answer that because well it was my arm. But at the same time, Part of me was thinking, "Just give her your damn arm! If you don't comply she would kill you, and take your arm anyways!"

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Nickolas Imura"]

Ashin shrugged, a motion that did little to the lightsabre burning down by her side. "It's unique. Unique things have value -- if not to me, then to other people, who have things that I value. I'm not asking for anything crippling here, unlike what'll happen to that knee if you don't get it looked at. Take it from someone who's been hit in the knee one time too many. Take your vibrosword, carve me a small sample, and be on your way to the medical booth, son."

 

[Garza]

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

The woman clearly knew what it felt like even before she said it. Though her words of me being Unique were ones that made me think even harder. My entire body shook as I debated wither I should give her a piece of my flesh to hand to her, or say no. Part of me wanted to ask more, and as stupid as I was it just blurted out.

"Fine, but let me come with you so I may know what is truly wrong with me. I can tell you this much that the more I use the force, the more pain and suffering I feel. You may already know what I speak of though."

I tried to lean on my good leg, which happened to be my left. I drew my sword up between the woman and myself, and bringing my left arm around. sliced into my folds of my hand. It hurt, though no where near to that of my leg. When opening my left hand, Instead of the Crimson blood that came from the other portions of my body, came a black grey ooze that was thicker and bubbled in the air. as though a carbonated drink ran in my veins. I shook my hand down letting the extra blood fall away and onto the ground. Drawing my hand up I picked off a sliver of my cut flesh. skinny, but rather long about 4 cm. Handing it out to her, I stayed still, not daring to move at all.

"Take it."

I had a slight fear that even as I offered her this, that she would cut me down as soon as she got my skin, but I had a feeling that she would not, just to maybe have a live specimen running around.

(Only posted in this to keep it going while I am on my LOA, sorry man)

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Nickolas Imura"]

The hovering rifle flew off to the side, and she clipped her lightsabre to her belt. The sample rotated near her hand, and with a thought she ripped off her sleeve to wrap it. Once no dark spots of ooze were visible through the layered cloth, she took it in hand and deactivated her lightsabre.

"The alchemist Rave Merrill runs an alchemy shop on the wandering bazaar starship Coldharbor. I'll make sure this sample goes to her as quickly as possible, and you can find her there. I have no doubt she'll find your case fascinating."

She turned and limped away. "Get that knee looked at," she said over her shoulder.

 

[Garza]

I even though I was not hit on my arm. M left arm stung and already I could feel my arm going numb. A sign that the poison was acting up again in my veins. I cringed as the woman walked away with some of my flesh with her. I limped over to the rifle that was mine. and grabbing it with my left arm, I had decided to take my leave, but walking there would be even more painful. Taking a few steps towards where the crowds would be at, I was sure that they would seen a speeder for me.

That way it would not get worse than it already was. Eitherway. I was done here.

@[member="Ashin Varanin"]

~fin~