Kashyyyk: Kepitenochan Landing Pad

Zeb Volter had been summoned to many places; from Dathomir, to Mygeeto, Coreilla, and now Kashyyk, Zeb had served the Imperium. That however did not mean that he had a lot of experience. He was still an Acolyte for a reason, but Zeb knew that he was well on his way to being a Crusader- a Crusader that was going to choose the warrior path.

Like numerous Imperium worlds, Kashyyk was also experiencing a Rebellion. Zeb knew that Kashyyk had symbolic meaning, mostly because the ancient Wookie warrior, Chewbacca, had once been a warrior, and a useful member in the Alliance to Restore the Republic. For some reason, some people thought that he was a Wookie, specifically the non-Wookies that were here, and had existed here for a small amount of time. This was not the first time he had encountered this, although he had to admit that it was probably a lesser amount of ignorance than most Lasats had faced over 1000 years ago when the Empire nearly exterminated them.

The Lasat had with him his armor, and all of the equipment that he had. The only difference was that he did not have his Class A Grenades, he had a Sil-50 sonic pistol instead of a Taskmaster pistol, and since he was the only person close enough to the Jedi that was going to arrive, he had earplugs. Zeb however had a Verpine Sniper Rifle, a popular variant of the Verpine Shatter Gun which had seen extensive usage in the galaxy. He had used the weapon for years, and he had to admit that he had gotten attached to it.

The Imperial command had told him they had been given a possible tip that a contraband was arriving on Kashyyk. With Kashyyk going through a Rebellion, Zeb logically figured that the goods were probably for the underground movement. The Lasat, knowing full well that the Galactic Rebellion had powerful members and allies needed to be prepared, and he needed to end the threat quickly. That was why he had a Verpine Sniper Rifle with him.

Zeb was in a comfortable sniping position, lying on the floor of the place(one of the wood buildings near the landing pad). He had set his sniper rifle on a bipod, in order to help with the recoil; additionally, the bipod's height could be extended, and it could be lowered. One of the reasons why he had decided not to go to the landing pad, and face the people in the ship head on was because he knew that he was outnumbered; furthermore, Zeb, while still an aggressive person was beginning to learn about patience, and he also knew that stealth was important, even though it wan't one of Zeb's preferred tactics. Even then, he was still trained at it, and Zeb had recently been using it more often.

As he waited for the ship to arrive, Zeb readied himself. He did not have his helmet, although it was right next to him. The place he was in that he was in was flat, and stable, and he had a particularly good view of the landing pad. As far as he was concerned, Zeb was ready.

Zeb was someone that wanted to use his environment to his advantage, and that was why he had picked this position. The sun was behind him, meaning that if his opponent looked up, he would have trouble seeing him; moreover, even if they knew you were up there, their was no chance of his lense revealing his position at all. The weather was also clear, allowing for a good position for sniping. Their were also no objects flying around, and when the ship landed, it would scare the wildlife, and any huge, and tall pet. The wind was also not blowing. The platform he was in was extremely safe, and sturdy, so study that a hurricane would have trouble pulling it down(depending on the level). His platform was also well hidden, but he could see it extremely well. In addition to that, if the Jedi decided to see Zeb from the ship's only viewpoint, the sun would block her.

The total distance separating him and the place where the ship was landing, was 150 meters. For someone that had been using the weapon for many years, and had used slugthrowers before he had joined the Order, 150 meters would be more than enough for him(the location of the ship is 150 meters according to his scope). He was also using a weapon that used magnets to fire the projectile, allowing it to fire the weapon at extreme speeds, which would be more than enough for than enough(at least in Zeb's opinion) for combating some force users. Fortunately, from the force singature of the Jedi, he figured that he was a Padawan, increasing his chances of the projectile actually hitting him. Zeb was also using a .50 caliber projectile. It was fast, and it packed a punch. One also had to consider the fact that even though he was using a scope, Lasats had superior sighting, at least to a human; therefore, his accuracy would be extremely high, considering his experience with this weapon, the fact that he was using a scope, and his frequent usage of it, even in the Sith Order.

As the ship landed, Zeb quickly sensed a Jedi in the ship. The Lasat(with his force sight activated) could directly see the entrance(which would also be the exit of the ship). Due to his force sight usage, he could through the ship, and he quickly determined the Jedi's position. Zeb readied himself, his verpine sniper rifle pointed directly at the entrance. He prepared himself to open fire at the Jedi. When the Jedi began to exit the ship(with a clear view of the Jedi) the Lasat would fire a projectile at the Jedi. It would be aimed directly at his chest. Zeb would then fire another projectile, aimed at his legs. He had some ammunition near him as well, so he could fire some more rounds. Thankfully, the ship did not have any laser turrets or mass drivers. Hopefully, the Lasat was ok.

Equipped with only her lightsaber, Saana had landed on the homeworld of the wookiees nearly an hour ago in order to canvas the area and to get a feel for the immediate surroundings of where the shipment would be landing. It was this early arrival on her part, the familiarity of the area from the last several minutes and her senses both as a huntress and through the Force that she had become aware of Zeb's presence. The Lasat's presence told her precious little beyond the cold darkness she got from it through the Force. As it was, with these details, the Togruta was able to pin point Zeb's location.

Utilizing her skills with Force Stealth and the terrain of the gaint trees native to the planet, who's branches grew thick enough and twisted together enough to be made into walkways of their own, Saana had made her way up into the trees and moved along a series of these branches from a direction somewhere behind Zeb's position until she was positioned a mere 7 meters above the Lasat. It was as the ship was landing and Zeb shifted to peer through his scope to focus on his would be target that she made her move. Saana dropped from her perch above Zeb, her lightsaber hilt coming to hand. The blade activates a few seconds later near the end of her descent a meter above Zeb. The energy blade comes down in an arc that is directed to slice through the verpine sniper rifle and the hand holding it. Knowing the weakness of the verpine rifle, little justling needs to be done to cause the weapon to not function properly, and hoping that the last second activation of her weapon for her manuever would cause any warning Zeb gets through the Force to flare a moment too late.

As the ship was landing, Zeb could see that the ship itself did not have a sign on it, a sign of the ancient warrior, Chewbacca. The Lasat had been told by Imperial Command that the ship itself would have the sign of the ancient warrior, Chewbacca(which would be colored in black(per the intelligence reports) allowing for Zeb to see since its not a color.) He had also been told that there would be another sign stating something nationalistc about Wookies, and it would be in white. It did not matter if this signs were there or not, or if they were camouflaged;Zeb however had the right to be worried.

Their would also be another sign of the The Lasat however, did not see the sign at all. Zeb knew that the Imperium getting mad on a ship that had a symbol(the Chewbacca one) of someone important in Kashyyyk’s history was stupid, and absurd. Even the Lasat, who normally would agree with many of the Imperium’s orders, would think it’s stupid. The ship was arriving at its scheduled time, but Zeb wondered to himself if this was really the ship? Had this been a stupid intelligence error? Zeb didn't really know. What he did know was this- that he was getting worried.

Fortunately for him though, Zeb had been told that the ship was not related to the Imperium in any manner, meaning that it was not an Imperial frigate, or any ship that was related to the Imperium; furthermore, he had also been told, and had been shown no reports of any Imperial ship being stolen. To put it simply, the freighter would not be an Imperial ship that was used by the Imperial Navy.

That however did not combine to what he could feel. He had felt a light side presence before it went away. As far as he could see(using force sight), there was no light-sider at the left, right, or bottom. That meant one thing- the light side presence had been coming fom the top.

As he moved continued to see the ship from the scope, silently wondering in his mind(which had Teras Kasi barriers) what was going on, Zeb couldn’t really here much of the lower rumble of the ship’s noise. This would certainly allow Zeb to be more aware of his surroundings. The Lasat’s large hears made him hear noises, including the swaying of branching creeping closer, and closer into his cautiously picked hiding spot. He knew that the branches were thick, and that they would create pathways, but they would still sway due to the frequent steps that were being made by whoever was following the Lasat.

The Lasat was also had the sun behind him. Zeb caught a long, moving shadow that walked along the higher branch, and slinked from one end of the branch to the other end. This would be more than enough for him to know that he was being watched. Considering the fact that the landing ship had scared away the local wildlife, Zeb highly doubted that it was an animal. Due to the force sight helping him with the blindness of his left eye, Zeb could actually see with both eyes. Force sight cured one of blindness, and the Lasat had seen plenty of people, including one of his former teachers, and his master, who were able to see; therefore, he could see in both eyes. These concerns made him feel that he was followed, and he certainly had the right to feel that way. The Lasat, knowing full well what was occurring, prepared himself.

Suddenly, a figure arrived out of nowhere, attacking the Lasat from above. Saana had decided to attack Zeb’s verpine sniper rifle first. As she jumped from above, the Lasat instantly got his lightsaber via telekinesis, and rolled to his right. After the roll, the Lasat activated his lightsaber, now being able to stand. Due to the fact that Saana had decided to attack his verpine sniper rifle first, and this was roll was occurring while Saana was during the air, his lower body would certainly be safe from her lightsaber; in addition to that, she could not move her lightsaber into him since she had again, attacked his verpine sniper rifle. Zeb could see that Saana had attacked his verpine sniper rifle, which had been on his right side. From what he could gather, based on him seeing the shadow, there had been a weapon, on a two handed grip( to attack Zeb’s verpine sniper rifle, she would have to be able to extend her arms) right side, and the Lasat would attack, taking the opportunity. With his lightsaber already activated, Zeb attacked Saana’s right wrist, from the top to the bottom, while moving back, and extending his dual phase function which extended the lightsaber to 2.5 metres, his lightsaber, on his right hand. As he did this, he moved to his left, therefore putting him away from the range of her lightsaber. If she decided to conduct do a turn, and swing while attacking his right flank while he did that, the Lasat Warrior would be able to block it without really feeling any pressure, considering that he had much more strength than her. The good thing about being a Lasat was that you could be strong, but also maintain an impressive level of dexterity, and agility.If Saana decided to do a near 360 degree turn, and attack Zeb from his left flank, the Lasat would also block the attack, his lightsaber being in his left hand.


Hopefully, at least in the Lasat’s mind, the attack would work.

Saana had come up from behind the Lasat's position, causing them to have been facing the same direction when she had dropped down. This lead to a number of things happening. First, Saana saw as much as she sensed Zeb's shift in posture and body language; a detail that can tell a huntress much about her prey and what it was about to do. With this ability to read the body language of a target, it enabled her to alter her tactic and her target in that moment as though the sniper rifle had been only a secondary thought. Second, in the few seconds for even the most masterful martial artists to roll away from attack, come back to their feet and bring a weapon to bare for even a reasonablely accurate strike, Saana landed in a crouch, her landing causing only the lightest creaking of wood beneath her, one foot extended as she did for only the couple of inches that was needed to send the sniper rifle and support stand toppling off the edge of the building sending it toppling to the ground 30 meters below in the course of one fluid movement. Finally, Zeb's attack came from above and moved downward in order to complete the top to bottum strike, an aggressive sword strike for what it is but prone to leaving vital openings in defense and not overly difficult to block or deflect, particularly for a practitioner of Soresu. Having kept her crouched position from her landing, meaning that her legs were half bent, and Zeb being taller than her, gave her that much more room to bring the blade of her lightsaber up to block his blade, but instead of keeping her blade at a horizontal position, she dropped the end to a 45 degree angle to cause the Lasat's attack, and blade, to slide off her blade behind her.

Saana's movement from her defense did not end there as she smoothly and gracefully with her own natural agility moved into attack from defense. The thing about a lightsaber having a blade that is 2.5 meters long is that it is good for keeping an opponent at that distance, provided that they are already at that distance. However, Saana had landed where Zeb had just been laying and even with the Lasat's considerable size, a single roll over and up onto his feet left her at least 1 meter inside the weapon's reach. No amount of physical strength or agility could truely compensate 100 percent fully once an opponent is within your defenses; it is this fact that makes a dagger a dangerous weapon. With her right side facing Zeb's front, in order for him to attempt the strike he did, and his blade deflected across his own body, she pivots on her right heel, putting her further inside Zeb's defenses and placing his right leg well within the reach of her lightsaber blade as its motion continued along a path just as she did. The energy blade hummed through the air as it was brought around to slice through his right leg at the knee starting from the outside back of it to the inside front if it were to cleave through.
With the Lasat's overly long blade, his long arms adding to the reach of his weapon and her closeness to him, being mere inches from his targetted leg, a physical block would be difficult at best and with being so close to him, he would have to slice through the wooden building before the blade could reach her. His step to the left originally had put a small amount of distance between them, nothing that was difficult to close again with her half crouched position and lower center of gravity. The other advantage she had was that even if he did manuever his way out of the attack, her blade was in motion and a follow up attack or block would require little effort or energy on her part, and if he chose to bodily attack her in response there was a high probability that even if such an attack connected, her lightsaber could still make contact with some part of his body.

The activation of the Jedi's blade above Zeb's head didn't give a lot of time, and though Zeb was mentally prepared for such an action to take place, he still felt like it wasn't so much him that had rolled to right and onto one knee then stand up, but that it was the Force itself coupled with his many years of training in Teras Kasi that turned his body into a blur. Perhaps it was his saving grace at that moment, but there was no way Zeb could have done it if he hadn't grown wary of the ship's validity as the actual target, nor if it weren't for his years of practice, or the numerous hints that had appeared.

As she landed, the Lasat made note of something very important. Having arrived twenty minutes before the ship had landed, it was during his exact arrival that he had sensed something.He had been hearing noises from the branches for at least three minutes; since he could not be able to sense the light side presence during that time period, Zeb made the logical conclusion that his opponent had probably been using force stealth for a large amount of time, and that in-itself would surely be able to affect her concentration. There was no way around it, since constant usage of the force affected even the greatest of force masters, including the former Grand Master Yoda, and the Sith Lord, Darth Tyrannus. Fortunately for the Lasat, force sight, and force sense did not cause a huge drain on the force reserves, although he knew that this, combined with using other abilities would hurt him. That was why he had meditated for many hours before he had been sent on this mission. Zeb however did not have any sleep deprivation, and was ready for the fight.

Landing from such a massive fall would most likely cause her legs, and knees to feel an extreme amount of pain; in addition to that, while her kick on the verpine sniper rifle was certainly impressive, and it did send the verpine sniper rifle to the ground, effectively removing it from the duel, it would most likely imbalance her since her –left- leg was outstretched. Not only would this imbalance her, but it would certainly put her front further from her blade.

One also had to consider the fact that she had to change her tactics one meter before she had activated her blade. Even if the most battle-hardened Jedi would surely find this to be extremely difficult, let alone a Padawan of the Order- especially considering the fact that she would be fatigued due to her extensive usage of force reserves.

Zeb so that she blocked her blade with his lightsaber. Unfortunately for her, he had been moving to the left. While it was a small distance, her feet and legs feeling pain, and the fact that she had certainly used her force reserves extensively would certainly not make the attack as effective as she may have believed.

One had to consider the Lasat’s stance. He was closer to the center of gravity than Saana may have believed; Why? It was because when Lasats walked, they were also closer to the center of gravity(SW Rebels confirms this). They also had a way of walking upright, like a human, or other humanoids. When Zeb had attacked, his stance was similar to the former, and since he was also closer to the center of gravity, when Saana had made a block, and had attempted to have the Lasat slide, the Lasat wouldn’t slide, having not needed to recover the footing at all. If she attempted to attack his feet(or knee, or his lower body), it would also not really affect him, since Zeb's legs were much more stronger than her. Zeb would also be ready to defend himself; his armor would also protect him from her hits.

While he had taken one step to his left, the Lasat had been moving behind while she had attacked, and while moving forward was always faster than moving backward, Zeb however had used his dual-phase function to create some distance when she attacked, and that would leave him out of the distance of her lightsaber, despite him nearly having slipped.

The Lasat then noticed that she had pivoted her right leg, Zeb had seen her pivot her right leg forward, which would He did not know why she had done such a bad mistake, since now her back was facing his face. Even if the Lasat had slipped, her pivot would not place her lightsaber(no matter what hand she is holding it in) would not close to his range at all. When she had pivoted, Zeb, his Lasati training coming in handy telekinetically called his Sil-50 sonic pistol (with his free hand), and opened fired at his opponent.

The good thing about sonic pistols was that sonic pistols could not be protected by the lightsaber. Additionally, the Togruta would not be able to hear the sonic pistol, since it mimicked the sound of the nervous system. At this range, it would surely be hard for her to block it. That, combined with the fact that her back was facing Zeb would most likely be able to have her get killed. The sonic bolts would go toward her median (the line that separated the left and right); furthermore, at least five rounds would go there. If it hit, she would feel like vomiting, nausea(the effects are on Wookiepide)

If the Sil-50 pistol did not work for some reason, Zeb would (instead of firing the Sil-50 sonic pistol) fire his SFPM-Flechette Pistol. The flechettes would quickly explode since their range was below 4 meters, and eight 3mm long flechettes would be targeted in a wide range that would cover her entire back. Since Saana hadn’t called on the force to help her while she was attacking Zeb, the chances of her using force barrier, telekinesis, or any force barrier at this specific time wouldn't be significantly reduced, at least in the Lasat's opinion.

When she began to institute the next round of the duel, the Lasat Acolyte was able to notice that she was able to block his blade, but due to her move with the crouch, it would prevent her from following Zeb in retreat, which would certainly put some distance between the two of them. Zeb had also been backing away, and he had also used the dual phase function of his lightsaber. The imperfect transition from the sniper to Zeb would most certainly also allow him to create some distance.

If she stood up, Zeb would then move, the Lasat clearly ready to attack. He would rotate (in 90 degrees) round her right(Zeb’s left) while she was probably recovering from her crouch. The Lasat would also have the force flow through him, since his force sight enhanced his reflexes, while him still maintain a reasonable amount of combat level force reserves, considering that he had meditated for many hours straight before being deployed. This however did not mean that Zeb had master level force reserves, but for an acolyte, he was certainly ready.

If her attack connected with his leg, specifically in the lower area(below the knee), Zeb would feel an intense amount of pain. He however would notice that her back would be extended toward him, which would be the case, considering the fact that she was in a crouched position, and she needed to extend herself in order to attack, regardless of the distance between them. Zeb would grab his sonic pistol, which was in his right side of his waist, and open fire, sending five blaster bolts at the median of her back. The fact that he was considerably taller than her allowed him to have longer reach. She had also not called on the force to attack. That, combined with her over-extensive usage of force stealth, and her legs feeling pain would certainly be more than enough, at least in Zeb’s opinion for the sonic bolts to connect. Sonic bolts could also not be deflected by a lightsaber, adding to the difficulty of countering an idea like that.

OOC: Admin ruling - Saana's strike is successful

IC: Saana was no longer making use of the force to stealth herself, there was no need for it once she had made her move to ambush Zeb and though she had felt the impact of her landingup through her body, her crouched position spread the shock of the impact over the whole of her body instead of only on the joints of her legs, lessening the discomfort. There was little other use of the Force offensively on Saana's part as her lightsaber blade cut through armor, flesh and bone with ease. The severed part of Zeb's leg, from the knee down, plopped to the wooden floor. She knew that such wounds, even from a lightsaber, would quickly send a person's body into shock as it physically tries to cope. As there were no railings or walls around them for Zeb to grab onto for support, the Lasat's balance would be heavily impaired.

Saana's movement did not stop as her blade sliced through the lasat's leg at the knee from his right to his left. The energy blade of her lightsaber aarced up as she straightened to step to her left, Zeb's right, to avoid potential pistol fire and strike Zeb's wrist of his hand reaching for the sonic pistol, or the pistol itself if he still has the reflexes to dodge, but her blade already so close it would be difficult to do so and likely impossible if he tried to spend the time to try to draw and fire. Her lightsaber blade arcs from there in the characteristic strokes of Soresu, up and then down again to strike at the wrist of Zeb's hand holding his lightsaber, or the hilt of the lightsaber if Zeb again somehow manages the reflexes to dodge away. Saana leaps back, then to stand on the other side of the wooden floor.

"Surrendor dark one.You are badly injured. You cannot win."

Zeb had attempted to fight back, but he knew that it was a futile effort. When she cut off his other knee, he fell off his side. He moved back, his mind in shock after what had happened. Zeb then heard the Togruta stated “Surrenderr dark one. You are badly injured. You cannot win.".” The Lasat, ashamed of his failure simply replied. “Okay, I surrender Jedi. " he stated , his tone, and visual expression showing that he truly meant it; moreover, his force signature, and emotions would show that he truly meant what he stated.

Considering the fact that she did not move closer to him when he had fallen to his side and moved back, Zeb had some distance(five meteres) between him, and her. This would be instrumental in what Zeb was going to do. She also had no reason to move in, and attack him, because from what she could tell, Zeb did mean what he had stated.

The Lasat then suddenly remembered, at least in half a second what he had stated to the Sith Crusader that rescued him from the Hutt that he used to work for. He had stated two words: “I promise.” Zeb had promised him that he would join the Sith Order, and that he would defend it with his life. One had to consider the fact that it was only two words, so the timing in which he remembered them was extremely fast. Saana had also wasted her force reserves hiding her presence in order to prepare to ambush Zeb(which had lasted at least over ten minutes due to him having arrived twenty minutes before in order to prepare to attack the ship). Using any telepathic intrusion would require some effort since she had practically drained herself.
A half a second later, Zeb could feel his primal instincts take over. He was driven by one word, survival. Zeb would then send a force push, at Saana.

He had not performed any hand gestures. It was a attack, an unrefined one, but one that would most likely connect. Why? Firstly, they were at a close distance, and from his experience with his usage of tutaminis, even if a Padawan/Acolyte was proficient, they couldn’t be able to muster up a defense that quickly. This would be the same situation for any usage of force barrier, or telekinesis. Secondly, and lastly, Saana had over-extended her usage of force stealth, which she had used for over ten minutes.

The force push would be sent at her torso, meaning that she couldn’t really be able to alter her movement in the lower body. Other than the fact that it would be highly difficult to dodge the force push due to their proximity, the width of the force push. The force push would be strong enough to be able to knock her out of the platform, and into the air as she flew. Additionally, the force push was aimed more on the width, meaning that it would be a long force push.

As Zeb did this, he knew that he had very little energy left. For the first time in a while, his force sight was gone, leaving him with his right eye only open, since his other eye was blind. He also knew that he couldn't use anything else. He knew he had lost the battle, but he was not going to(or at least try not to) be captured by the Jedi.

More importantly however, the force push would push him off the edge of the platform, and he would fall down, the ground, and him being separate by at least ten meters, His armor would protect him, and when he would fall to the ground, the STF gel would go on his back, allowing him to move in practically unscathed; additionally,his armor protected him from kinetic hits. As he was falling down, Zeb’s lightsaber was in a defensive stance, the blade pointed in a dioganal manner as it protected his left shoulder, to right waist. It was also forward enough so that if Saana would somehow use telekinesis to attack him, his lightsaber would not be able to pierce him at all.

With no defense from Zeb, Saana's lightsaber slices through one of his wrists and then the other severing the hands. The padawan could not fathom how much pain the Lasat had to be in having just lost not only half a leg, but both of his hands. It was not a fate she wanted to suffer, nor had she wanted to inflict it on him, but it was better than taking his life.

Saana had asked for his surrender, to end the fight, and she gathered the Force around her in the event that Zeb would manage to Bare down through the pain to try and make any semblance of using the Force, though, she would be impressed if he could do so. It was disappointing, but no surprise when he agreed to surrender and then attempted to send a force push against her without the gathering of the energy of the Force around him. The Force push he sends at her is not just unrefined, but incredibly weak. Not even names like Anikan Skywalker had been able to use the force through the pain of losing an arm or his legs as a Jedi Knight, nor could Count Dooku, a Jedi Master, use the Force without his hands. The effort she had to expend into a force push of her own to counter his was small at best and she had no severe distractions like pain to contend with. Given these factors, it was unlikely he would be able to generate enough use of the Force to push her in such a way, let alone to also push himself away from her.

With what Saana had left of the Force she gathered about herself while she had waited for his answer, she took hold of the pistols at his belt. Since he had wore them into a potential combat situation, the weapons would undoubtedly be worn in a way to make them easily accessible in a fight. It was this that she was taking advantage of with the Force to pull at them and take them away from him, the sonic pistol and the other pistol he had. Once that was done, she was able to step over and claim Zeb's lightsaber.

"I am taking you into my custody, now. For the sake of your injuries, it would be wise to not attempting to resist further." Though she knew there was little room for that now. The Lasat was caught in a perverbial corner and shock would take over sooner rather than later.