What Lurks Beyond

[Lief]

Chaos freaking help her.

It was with grim expression that Kyra took her first steps forward, altering the angle and ultimately the path of the lightsaber blade at the same time... Of course its movement was far less restricted than she had been anticipating, so what had been intended as a short swipe to the right became a wider reaching arc that swept right across his waistline... Of course it didn't touch him, the movement had been to set up not to actually hit home after all she was a good few feet away.

Adjusting the weight of her swings as best she could, though largely thrown off kilter by the unexpected effortlessness of each movement which involved the hilt, Kyra finally was able to bring the blade close to the mark - aiming down toward his hands rather than any vital point on his body.

She hadn't even wanted to attack in the first place, much less kill a man!

[member="Darth Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

He was in little danger, as shown by her first swing of the weapon being nowhere near the mark. Even for one who's skill lay in areas other than lightsaber combat this would be an easy fight for him. Unless she got things under control, she was going to wind up getting herself killed. He really didn't want to kill her, but if she gave him no other choice then that's what would happen. She'd taken the simple matter of him taking a saber from her and turned it into a life and death situation. It wasn't worth it! If he hadn't been confident in his abilities compared to hers, he'd probably have given it back to her because he could see the reasonableness of doing so.

Apparently she got her wits about her because her next attack came in with actual intent to hit him. He brought his hand around, blade pointed at the ground, and caught her swing against his weapon before pushing back against it to move her arm away. Instead of leaving it at that, he stepped in towards her now opened position and moved to slam his shoulder into hers, trying to send her back and off balance while keeping his blade on the same side as she held hers so that he could deflect any harried attempt to strike at him and push him back.

"You're being stupid girl. It's just a lightsaber. Not worth your life."

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

A very simple downguard proved enough to deflect her attack, and the mere blow of the defense sent her staggering back. Not that she wanted to remain too close to him at any rate, whether the swing had landed its mark or not. What was proving to be very physically and mentally taxing for her was seemingly effortless on his part, as though batting away a toddler who was uneasy on their feet.

It frustrated her like nothing else, to be reduced to such a state of insignificance. Give her a firefight any day.

He took a few steps toward her and she did her best to pull the saber across in defense. Before it could line up though she felt the jarring sensation of a physical collision and was sent back even further with a grunt, her shoulder aching. She tightened her grasp of the lightsaber in response, having it in a two handed grip, and grit her teeth in frustration.

More so at his words.

"You don't get it" she snapped, as she took the moment to readjust her stance and put a tiny bit more distance between them so she could calculate her next move, "It isn't mine to lose! That makes it more than just some dumb lightsaber!"

Her fingers flexed around the hilt, and another slow inhale of breath helped to push the pressing darkness back. Damn this room... If she wanted any chance at lasting this out she needed to leave the corruption behind. But something told her it wouldn't be quite so simple.

Besides, even if you managed to get outside without the Nexus' influence... You'll still be just as terrible with the lightsaber!

All the same she backed up a little more, edging toward the gaping hole in the wall. Her eyes fell over his person, he was armoured from head to toe... She needed to find a kink in that armour, that she could expose with either saber or blaster. Preferably the latter. Right now shooting him would be useless.

[member="Darth Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"And you don't understand that this thing, this tube of metal with a crystal in it, is not worth your life, regardless of whether you should have lost it or not. I highly doubt he'll kill you for it. I expect he'll come for me to get it back."

She'd stumbled back under the assault, and he'd caught her blade a second time to keep it from striking home. She was definitely untrained in the art of lightsaber combat. While the principles between it and fighting with a sword were similar, they were not the same. A lightsaber fight came with the realities of fighting a Force wielder, and a Force wielder could do more than simply swing a blade at you. There was a high probability that she probably hadn't realized that fact, especially considering she was edging back towards that large hole in the wall which made itself a nice little bit of opportunity for him.

The debate was only seconds long. As she drew near it, he reached out through the Force and threw a wave of energy at her aimed to send her flying out of the hole in the wall. He expected she wouldn't be that great at catching herself, and would probably fall those five stories to the debris strewn ground below. If she was injured, so be it. She'd chosen this fight. Yes, he'd stolen the saber, but that wasn't grounds for doing battle. Not to him, at least.

"Foolish."

Even if she managed to jump down before he hit her with the Push, he would stalk towards the opening and follow after her, though in a controlled descent rather than a fall. Telekinesis was not his strongest suit but it was only five stories, and he only needed to control enough that when he landed he landed in a crouch rather than blowing out his knees trying to catch himself with his legs. He succeeded in that, at least. Straightening again, he looked for her to see what state she was in. If she could continue to fight, he knew that she would, and ultimately he knew that to win this fight, to end it, he was going to have to do something he didn't want to do.

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

That gave her pause.

Was this man wanting Connor to come after him? Was Kyra simply giving him what he wanted by carrying on so foolishly? Stoking the flames, and giving Connor more reasons to pursue the fool when all was said and done?

Oh she truly hoped not.

A glimmer of recognition entered her gaze before she could banish it with a firm set to her jaw. Her eyes narrowed as she took yet another step back, ready to leap from view at a moments notice. Five stories high... Not a very nice landing, just debris. No she couldn't simply jump, that would be idiotic of her.

But before she could decide for herself a blast of unseen energy struck her square in the chest and sent her reeling backward. Now, Kyra's reflexes were higher than that of the ordinary person - unknowingly enhanced by the Force but more so than that trained to a fine point - she was a salvager and that meant climbing the bowels of ships and buildings in search of the perfect part...

Needless to say falling was apart of her every day existence.

Instinct took over, and she pushed her weight down to try and slow her backward momentum. It didn't stop her from falling through the wall, but it did allow her to reach out the moment her foot met air and grasp for something - anything - that could keep her from tumbling down uncontrolled.

She could feel the sticky ichor of life bleeding from her hand as it curled around a piece of metal debris jutting from the broken frame of the building. A gasp accompanied the ensuing pain, and the urge to let go was unbearable. She flailed in place for a few moments more, before releasing her hold and falling a few feet down.

Thank the Force that this building wasn't just one straight wall of duracrete.

The air was knocked from her as she landed on her back on some balcony a floor below the Nexus. She coughed and did her best to push up to her feet, unharmed hand reaching out for the lightsaber which had fallen disignited at her side.

A moment to catch her breath, a moment to shake the disorientation from her body, and then she was back on her feet... Admittedly with every bone in her body aching. Each movement caused her to wince.

"Coward" she spat up at him, stupid Force Users!

Part of her hoped he'd follow her down. She was far from done here. She would not be leaving without that lightsaber, not if she had any say in the matter.

So it was that when the clunk of his boots met the durasteel just ahead of her, Kyra flexed her hand around the lightsaber and pressed the ignition. There was no hesitation this time, no real warning aside from the snaphiss and arc of light, as she pushed forward and swept the blade toward him.

Her aim was toward his shoulder this time, and while it wasn't off kilter there wasn't exactly a lot of strength behind the blow... After all she'd gone from a two handed hold to a single grip with her right - and weaker - hand. Determination allowed her to press on though, and she brought one foot across to try and sweep his feet at the same time.

A grunt of pain left her in that moment, a sharp sensation working its way up her spine and rendering her motionless just after her attempted assault. It was a wonder she hadn't fallen back to the floor.

[member="Darth Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Despite the reality that she was unlikely to ever beat him, here they were on a ledge below the one he'd tried to throw her off of, facing each other once again. She wasn't going to back down no matter what. This was what he didn't understand about people. They put seemingly more value on a stupid object that on their own or others lives. People squabbles over uninhabited world's, moons, even asteroids. It, to him, was a stupid waste of resources and precisely why the Reformation was needed in this galaxy.

She swung at him again, but her footing wasn't sure and there was no power behind the strike. She also swept a foot out at his feet in an effort to knock him over. He merely stepped back to the edge and allowed her foot to pass by harmlessly while the blade of the Saber would graze his armor to no real effect. Sometimes taking a hit could lead to an advantage, like catching her in a vulnerable position as she was now in.

His Saber flicked up and around coming down at her from above. He stopped short of cleaving her in two, but allowed the blade to burn a nasty scar across her forehead. And as it continued down he decided that wasn't enough to really teach her a lesson. Sometime sacrifice was necessary for growth. So he let his blade pass through her left arm at the elbow, cleaving her forearm off and sending it falling away from her.

To really emphasize the point, and make sure the fight ended, he then hit her with another Force Push aimed at throwing her off the balcony. He'd grab her lost arm, then, and jump down after her, approaching where she was with the arm in one hand and Connors saber in the other.

"Do you understand now?"

[member="Kyra Sol"]

 

[Lief]

It was over in an instance.

She had barely landed the grazing hit to the armour on his shoulder before the most gruesome pain imaginable spread through her left hand side. Seering against her head, blazing across her arm, and before that could even be fully comprehended by the salvager her body was once again descending from the building.

This time there was no balcony to protect her fall. This time there was no reaching out for something to grasp onto.

It wasn't until she was lay another two stories down, on the rooftop of the lower building, that the realization of what had just happened sunk in. Somehow her right hand was still clutching the sickly dark hilt which sent corruptive pulses through her, though it had been disignited with the jolting impact of the fall. Her other hand though...

Her other hand wasn't there. She tried to flex her fingers but instead she felt pain and... Nothingness.

Kyra was not afraid of the sight of blood, or general wounds. Heck she had been raised amidst pirates! But when she turned her head just enough to see just a stump of an arm where her lower arm and hand ought to have been she could not help but scream. She had never imagined such a horror happening to her, the loss of a limb, and it even overshadowed the severe pain she was feeling across her forehead and along her back.

Her breathing was heavy and uncontrolled, made worse by the corruptive object in her hand. She kept a tight hold of it though, despite wanting nothing more than to throw it away. She had to.

And then he was there. The monster who had mutilated her. Stood over her with Connor's saber in one hand and...

"Oh my kriff... Oh my kriff!"

He had her arm!

Something forced her to her feet in that moment, despite every bone in her body protesting. Adrenaline rushed through her, all that she had in her to keep her from crumpling back to the floor and allowing her vision to turn black. She had to get away from here. She had to get away from this maniac!

Shaking her head, she turned and jumped the final story of the building, stumbling where she landed due to a distinct lack of balance. She didn't have a spare hand to help her push back up, but she managed to scramble with just the one she had. And that too was injured from earlier.

She grit her teeth past the pain, everything hurt. Absolutely everything... But her ship wasn't too far, couldn't be too far...

As though sensing her devastation, when Kyra turned the first corner which made up the labyrinthine city streets from the shadows a great beast leapt. Anyone else might have backed up, or tried to fight it, but Kyra was so relieved at the sight of Kyne that she all but sank to her knees with relief.

The Kusak Hound yapped noisily, and the next thing Kyra knew Screw was looming over her.

"It's okay, Mistress, the 'Bucket is just one street over..."

Everything turned black then, as she gave in to the swirling darkness on the edge of her vision.

[member="Darth Ignus"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Of course he should have expected her to say nothing. She was in shock. She'd had her arm cut in half, her face scarred, and she'd been thrown off a building. Truthfully, he probably should have just left her at that, but since he'd had her down and out, more or less, he kind of wanted to get his saber back. His hands were a little full, however, and he was still watching her as she took into account what had happened. The fear, the pain, the anguish. It was, in its own way, quite satisfying for him to see her in this state. He was, after all, a Sith. Even though he was different, and didn't particularly enjoy killing people, it was still kind of nice to lord his powers every once in a while.

Before he could do anything further, though, she got up, turned, and ran away. He could have followed her. It wouldn't exactly have been hard to do so. He didn't though. He watched her until he could no longer see her, then shrugged and looked down at the things he held in his hands. In one, her severed arm, perfectly cauterized by Connor's lightsaber, which he held in his other hand. It would be kind of weird to keep her arm as a trophy, so he tossed it off into the rubble, where it would no doubt be picked clean by some scavenger or other. Ironic that a scavenger's arm would be picked clean by another scavenger.

He finally deactivated Connor's saber and held it in front of him so he could get a good look at it. The design was actually pleasing to the eye, and definitely signified the creation by a Jedi. He clipped it to his belt. The reason he'd taken the weapon was simple: bait. He hadn't wanted to fight the girl, or injure her. He'd have preferred not to. But the presence of the lightsaber was just too much for him to say no to. He knew, based on her reaction to him taking it, that Connor would ultimately come for it with her. With what he'd done to her, it was guaranteed.

"Now that I know he'll come, I should prepare."

He pulled out his commlink and alerted the crew of the Eidolon to the fact that he would be returning shortly. From there he'd need to make a few calls to his fellow Sith, but it shouldn't be too hard. It would take at least a little bit for Connor to come for him. No doubt the man would want to ensure that his little girly girl was in good shape. Honestly, a cybernetic arm and some makeup and she'd be fine. Many had dealt with worse injuries than what he'd given her. She'd gotten his saber out of the deal, but Leos didn't even care. He rarely ever used it, and he still had his swords so it wasn't like she'd taken off HIS arm.

All in all. A solid days work for him, and beneficial to the Reformation.

[member="Kyra Sol"]