1 - A New Dawn

Keirso spent most of their time en route to Xorrn practicing his lightsaber techniques. It has been... well, it had technically been years since he had done so and while his memories were still fresh his joints just weren't as limber as they had been pre-carbonite freeze. He was happy to be alive, but he wasn't sure how long it would take for his body to return to normal. The best he could do was to practice his forms in the limited amount of space that was available to them.

There was a lot to consider. It was still hard to believe that the Jedi Order was gone. While that fact still hit him hard at random moments when he least expected it, those blows were getting fewer and further between. This Rebellion seemed promising, but everything they knew about them was filtered through the lens of hearsay and Imperial propaganda. Also... the darkness that was rising in Venzo was troubling. Each of them had issues that made them less than idea Jedi, but anger was one of the major stepping stones down the path to the dark side.

Keirso gritted his teeth. He should have a talk with his friend.

Perhaps he'd be able to work some of his pent up aggression by sparring. It was worth a shot.

He walked to the ship's intercomm.

"Venzo, meet me in the cargo bay in a moment would you?" After a moment's thought, he engaged the comm again, grinning "Bring your lightsaber if you you think you're man enough to take me in a bout."

An excellent idea. Shake the space dust off. Venzo presses the intercom button at his perch in the Sensor and Comms room. "You know this won't end well for you." Taking out his lightsaber, he ignites it, watching the green blade hum for a few moments, executing a simple flourish before sheathing it again. "On my way." With a smile, Venzo makes his way to the cargo bay.

Who could resist some sparring during a long hyperspace trip?

Keirso spent the few moments it took Venzo to reach the cargo bay stripping down to a simple tunic, pants, and boots. While it was good to practice his forms with the extra weight of clothing and accessories that he usually carried with him, he wanted this to feel as much like a formal spar as possible. When that was done he placed his lightsaber in the center of the floor and knelt on his knees, closing his eyes and finding the calm center of the force, feeling the bright spots of his friends flow through the ship with one in particular coming in his direction.

He did not smile. But there was a joyful expectation which rose in him, something that he let wash over, through, and back out of himself. It was no the Jedi way to enjoy conflict. If was older and more disciplined he may have been allowed to channel his enjoyment for the art of combat in the way that Master Windu did, but he had never reached that level.

Finally the door to the cargo bay opened with a soft hiss and Keirso could feel the eddies of the Force flowing from Venzo. It felt warm and familiar, but there was something darker there too, something which had always been there perhaps, but was now growing. Keirso wondered if Venzo could feel anything similar in him, or what he looked like to someone like Zara for whom the Force seemed an open book.

He waited for Venzo to kneel opposite him and place his own blade near his knees.

"Are you ready, my friend?" Keirso asked, his voice calm while he rested his mind in the Force.

Venzo stood opposite Keirso, perhaps ten meters away, seeing no need for Jedi sparring formalities. "On your knees already? But I just got here!" He let out a friendly laugh, and drew his lightsaber, green blade humming to life as Venzo assumed a Niman fighting stance.

"Whenever you're ready." He smiled.

I'm down for a mock combat, with dice, and I'm sure we could imagine it much like any dangerous weapon sparring, wherein those involved are capable of pulling their attacks at the last second, just before it might hit and do real damage.

We can, of course, count it as real damage, a way for Venzo and Keirso to keep score.

Again, great idea Proph. I've been itching to use the lightsaber on something.

Keirso nodded and stood, picking up his saber loosely in one hand and activating a blade that was blue but tinged with a greenish hue.

He held the blade in front of himself in a Makashi stance, angling his body so as to present the smallest possible target. He felt his entire body tense as he studied his opponent, his mind flying through a number of opening moves all while trying to discern whether or not Venzo would strike first.

There was a tense moment before either of them struck. But finally, the moment shattered into a controlled flurry of blows.

Venzo's approach to lightsaber combat was much like his approach to the rest of life: methodical and pragmatic, devoid of grandiose embellishments and aesthetic flourishes. Compared to others, his style could, at times, verge just barely on the cusp of seeming slow, although his lightsaber was quite often exactly where it needed to be, as Venzo handled it with ruthless, calculating efficiency.

This wasn't their first time sparring, as Keirso and Venzo had gone at it many times over the years. Much like Keirso, Venzo had an appreciation for practicing the arts of war, although his perspective on lightsaber combat was far more utilitarian in nature than Keirso's.

Venzo will use a maneuver to engage, a second maneuver (2 strain) to activate Center of Being, and then attack.

Wounds Threshold: 0/14
Strain Threshold: 2/15

Venzo immediately put Keirso on the defensive, pushing him back with blows that were calculated and predictable, but savage. Where Keirso was lithe and quick, Venzo was brawnier and he was putting those muscles to good use. In the limited space that fact was very much to his advantage. Still, Keirso knew his way around a lightsaber and threw himself into the fight - feinting, twisting, and making use of his natural speed and athleticism, probing his defenses for any sign of weakness.

Keirso breathed Deep and reached out with the force, trying to get a better sense of Venzo's emotional state. He didn't expect to win this fight. That wasn't his goal. But if Venzo was feeling off of his anger, he hoped that would come to the surface and become apparent to both of them. It wasn't good to let such things fester.

He was already breaking out in a sweat. This fight would not take long, one way or the other.

The worst part is you forgot the lightsaber's Breach effect, which penetrates 10 points of soak. In other words, you took all 9 of that damage!

Venzo is going to use Parry to block some of that incoming damage from Keirso's lightsaber, reducing it to (6+1-3)= 4 total.

Venzo wasn't surprised by the intricacies of Keirso's lightsaber style, with his highly effective feints and showman-like steps. And, although Keirso's Makashi technique could be, in a way, thought of as more style than substance, the truth of the matter was that the Makashi lightsaber technique was specifically designed for one-on-one combat. In fact, Venzo had often considered integrating aspects of that style into his own repertoire, as part of his efforts to approach mastery.

Tapping into his discipline to avoid being glamoured into a trance by Keirso's raining strikes, Venzo tracked each thrust and step with counters and advances, drawing on his deep appreciation of defense to parry his opponent's blows, all part of an orchestrated effort to methodically wear him down.

Going to use Center of Being maneuver again, and then go after Keirso with the green lightsaber!

Wounds Threshold: 4/14
Strain Threshold: 5/15

Keirso had almost forgotten how relentless Venzo could be. While his own form required grace and precision, Venzo's was efficient. His own muscles were starting to burn and his reaction times were slowing significantly already.

Kriffing carbon freeze... Keirso swore to himself, I think it wrecked more than just my eyesight...

He gritted his teeth and dodged another swipe.

"You're in rare form today, Venzo," Keirso said, doing his best to deflect. "You know... we're not actually trying to kill each other, right?"

He grinned, but the expression was forced. There was worry lying underneath it. Again, he probed out with the Force toward Venzo, trying to get a read on his emotional state. He was well aware the this effort could cost him the match, but if he just peel back a layer...

Keirso unleashed another elaborate assault, but again, Venzo maintained discipline, mindful to to position himself to minimize Keirso's efficacy, again parrying what otherwise would have been a solid hit. "Rare form?" Venzo pushed off, then dug in for another unrelenting attack. "I think you've got that backwards!"

Although Keirso tried to get a sense of Venzo's state of mind, the Dark Side seemed a shroud over Venzo at the moment, preventing any attempt to do so.

A subtle smile formed on Venzo's lips as he continued his onslaught, wearing Keirso down, a model of efficiency when it came to steadfast defense, combined with opportunistic offense.

Not that I care for our sparring (which I am enjoying thoroughly, I might add!), but using Sense, or any force power, would actually constitute an action in combat, just to let you know. Here, however, I like it for the flavor.

Parry against Keirso's last attack (cost: 3 strain), reducing it to 3 damage. Aim maneuver this time for the attack. And I'll also convert Keirso's 2 Threat to another Boost for Venzo.

Wounds Threshold: 7/14
Strain Threshold: 8/15

"Yeah... rare" Keirso emphasized, again dodging another well placed thrust of Venzo's blade by holding his own high and rolling beneath the green arc. "You're good, my friend, but there's something different this time. You're more... driven."

Venzo's defense was rock solid, and Keirso doubted he would be able to penetrate it. He was wearing him down somewhat... just not enough.

"What's your secret? I'm still a little flat footed from our carbonite nap."

Proph, the 8 Advantages = 4 Setback. Trimming your dice from the right, per the usual PbP style, that actually gave you two Advantage from your roll. Since I spotted it, more so to keep things moving, I'll go ahead and convert that to a Setback for me.

Venzo blocked high, pushing, then seamlessly brought his saber in a half-circle toward the floor of the cargo bay, forcefully knocking aside another slash from Keirso.

"Secret?" A brief pause between the two of them, as they squared off. "Driven? Always. And now, more than ever. The Jedi are gone, and it's on us to do the driving." At that, Venzo crashed into Keirso again, bursts of humming green light dancing off of Keirso's blue.

Aim maneuver, attack!