Ask Clashing

[Nobody]

Lothal was, by no means, a nice place. Everything here was a mess; the city was minuscule, the people nasty. Still, Xath Skous couldn't exactly judge. He wasn't much better himself.

He stopped at some place selling blasters, hoping he could maybe find something he needed. It was a long shot, but worth a try. He stepped into the store and immediately felt something was wrong...something was, opposing his inner being. He stopped.

Jedi.

Immediately, he attempted to hide his force aura, going back to plain old Xath who didn't simply let his being flow throughout a room. He bottled it all up inside, or at least attempted to, and looked about the store. There were...a number of people there, but how could he identify who was who?

Knowing the Jedi, however, whoever it was would identify themself.
@Aurius

 

[Eileen Van Alasdaire]

“How is it you have no tibanna whatsoever?”

Eileen wasn’t precisely local to Lothal. The climate and weather patterns of the planet played hell with her body, which was born and attuned to colder or tropical environments. Being Vahla, her skeleton was made up of equal part bone and cartilage. It helped with flexibility, but certain heats simply caused her weird senses of discomfort. This was one such place.

The local simply gave her a look that said he was finished with the conversation. He was an arms dealer, apparently, with no knowledge of the surrounding area. Eileen figured that perhaps if her flight suit was more form fitting, or she played the sprite and dumped credits for information, he’d be much more open to talk. But the Jedi didn’t want any part of that, it would simply feel wrong. She would have to look elsewhere.

As she turned to leave, she stopped dead in her tracks. She felt... cold. Almost numb. It was brief, only for a second, and was gone. There was still a faint trail, but not nearly as strong. This was no ordinary, pleasant cold either - it was bone-chilling in every sense. Unnatural and aggressive, something she hadn’t felt in a while.

Please tell me I’m wrong. Please...

Her eyes thinned and began to gently shimmer in hue. The sign that they were adjusting to stress, and searching for danger. If Eileen was right, then that feeling was identical to many of the mystics and shamans she’d faced. Particularly, the force sensitive ones, yet this was not as chaotic and random. It was refined, and she knew well enough it did not come from nowhere, nor was it likely that whoever she’d sensed had vanished at all. Possibly... Sith.

Eileen‘s instincts told her to leave, avoid any conflict if she could and call for aide. She’d never dealt with an actual Sith before, mainly skirmishes with dark adepts and various cultist sects. But as her body began to turn towards the door, she saw a figure, seemingly recently entered, clearly observing. For a moment, their eyes met as she started to move for the entrance, her lightsaber slowly sliding into her hand from it’s sheathe in her sleeve.

@DarkSaber

 

[Nobody]

Xath continued to sweep the room, avoiding eye contact with anyone that he could...until it became impossible. A Vahla woman glanced at him, but instead of a quick look, it turned into a lengthy stare.

Xath immediately identified her as the Jedi...furthermore, she was slowly drawing a lightsaber into her hands. He decided to play it cool; she couldn't do much from across the room...not to mention, his signature was hidden, so she couldn't have been 100% sure.

Nevertheless, he fingered a saber through his robes as he nodded at her in a nonchalant way. He walked up, wary of the lightsaber she was trying to subtly maintain a grasp on. A mischievous grin lit his face as he spoke; "Are you in line?"

 

[Eileen Van Alasdaire]

Eileen didn’t stop moving towards the door. She didn’t make much attempt to hide that she intended to make her way. But as she did so, the figure spoke to her, and their features and body language changed almost instantly - from observation, to self-assurance. Not only that, but it seemed the room itself was growing more and more quiet. The locals seemed to stop, wondering what was going on, why a young woman was intent on running.

“I was. Nothing here for me, it seems.”

Though the Sith would not directly know it, they were correct. It would be difficult to ascertain which person in front of her was the Sith. But his change in composure gave her a good enough idea. Besides, even the best of Force-Sensitives could not hide their aura completely. All the Vahla had to do was take a gamble. If the authorities didn’t like what she was about to do, she would have to out herself as a Jedi completely. But right now, she had other options.

Her voice was soft. Gentle as usual. But within it, and around the figure she suspected to be the aggressor, the Force began to grow in potency. Eileen released a gentle, but empowered form of Dull Senses towards the figure. If they were force sensitive, they’d be able to shatter it easily. If not, she knew she’d been wrong, but the worst to come of it would be nausea and short-term memory loss - not even strong enough to incapacitate in the current way she utilized it.

“If you want my spot, go ahead.”

@DarkSaber

 

[Nobody]

Xath felt the flow of the Force as the Jedi attempted to dull his senses...but he also felt the change in the atmosphere as the people around them began to watch the interaction. Although he'd prefer to dominate, shatter the attempt...there were more ways than one to make a Jedi look bad.

He allowed the move to take over his mind to some extent, his eyes slowly fluttering before he fell to the floor, losing control over his body. He didn't exactly allow unconsciousness, but it'd accomplish his purpose. Immediately, people began to surround him, shouting and shaking him to wake him up.

They began to question the woman about what she had done, who did she think she was? A poor traveler...and she'd knocked him out. Of course, Xath still felt the affects of her attempt; were she to make a move now, he'd have little energy to defend himself. Nevertheless...he had a feeling the onlookers would do it for him.

@Aurius (Sorry, that was a dirty move :P)

 

[Eileen Van Alasdaire]

It seemed the Dull Senses had done its job. Done it all too well, as the being began to clearly, dramatically overreact. Unfortunately, the damage was done and the locals began to get riled up. Eileen has a distaste for this part, but she wasn’t about to cut down or go through an entire shop just for one being. She was Vahla, she had other means to deal with this, her eyes beginning to sputter and spark, casting a faint glow outwards.

Furthermore, she was a Jedi Knight. That much was proven as she lifted her gauntlet and revealed the Order’s symbol, and the metallic curved hilt of her lightsaber. The emerald blade hissed to life to compliment the faint glow of her eyes, casting the room in a verdant hue. Everyone with half a brain took a step back as her opponent was shaken to composure.

“This is a Jedi affair. This man is more dangerous than you know - for your own sake, return to your business. You don’t want to deal with a Sith.”

Her saber whistled through the air, stopping to point directly at his chest as she adopted a traditional Makashi stance. Eileen was not one to engage an unarmed enemy, but she wasn’t simply going to let his manipulations stand. If she was incorrect, she would apologize and make amends. Simple as that. Her sense still scanned the room however, acutely aware that more than a single denizen in this location had immediate access to a blaster - though her focus remained on the Epicanthix before her.

@DarkSaber

 

[Nobody]

One person maintained their attempt to shake Xath awake, while most focused on the Jedi as she revealed herself. A few put their hands on their blaster. Xath opened his eyes and fluttered them pathetically; "What did she do to me?" He moaned.

A few people began to yell; "How could you do that to a poor traveller?" Nevertheless, they were silenced as she drew her saber. Xath grabbed the man's arm and struggled to pull himself up.

He looked groggily at the glowing sword before shaking his head. "Is this what the Jedi promise us? I asked for a spot in line, and she...I don't even know what she did!" He pretended to almost fall over.

It'd take him a good ten more seconds to fully recover, so he continued to stall. "Now she's drawn a weapon on me...a defenseless man. Why did I ever come here?" Immediately, a sympathetic buzz came from the crowd. Despite her saber, a few had drawn weapons.

He had her now.

@Aurius

 

[Eileen Van Alasdaire]

Eileen went from anxious to almost amused. If any of the people here actually bought this little act, then they were weak willed enough to be mind tricked. It was obvious, Sith or not; he was a threat now. However, there was something she could do to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt what she suspected to be true. Her face remained stone cold as blasters around her, he saber gently pulling back defensively.

“I used an ability known to dull the senses. It’s common when we don’t want to have to hurt anybody. Thanks to it, you proved my point.”

Eileen was flying blaster half cocked. She couldn’t be certain she was right, but the way this was going, she either had to escalate or defuse the situation. Disarming everybody without killing them would do the trick, but so would another ability natural to her Order. But The Vahla would keep that ability in her sleeve for now.

“Only a Force-Sensitive could have recovered from that, one who was of equal strength to me.

You’ve all heard the stories of Jedi Knights of times past, the very same who fought for you time and time again. There are other stories though - stories of darkness and tragedy caused by regimes ruled by dark powers

So answer me, riffraff, and do so honestly - you are no member of my Order; yet you feel just as I do. Who, or what, are you, if not Sith?”

Saber in one hand, she raised her left to the sky for every civilian to see. It seemed her words might be heeded, but weapons were still out. Her response had cast doubt on his own - as honesty did, and counterfact. The Galaxy hadn’t simply forgotten about the Final Order, it was known Galactic History, and the rumors of the Sith were still the equivalent of stories told in the dark of night. Turning it towards the figure, her face softened.

“This ability is called Force Light. To any of you here who do not possess the Dark Side of the Force, it will be nothing more than a lamp. But for those who do - it will burn Out the darkness in you. You’ll be free of it, forever. You would do well to answer.”

Eileen knew full well she wasn’t even close to finishing her studies on that ancient ability, However, from all she’d read on the subject, it appeared similar in nature to Force Flash. No civilian would have any reason to doubt her ability to use it, and the Sith wouldn’t really be able to tell the difference without outing himself.

@DarkSaber

 

[Nobody]

Xath groaned internally. He didn't know if she was bluffing or not, but most likely...he shrugged.

"Lady, I'm an Epicanthix. Mind tricks like your 'dull sense' don't work on me as effectively...though I hope testing that out wasn't your reason for attacking me." He couldn't start a lightsaber fight; who knew what would happen with all these people. His lie would probably fail on her, but the crowd...

"I'm a traveler; please don't insult me with names such as 'riffraff.' I'm new to these parts; it sure wasn't wise to come here, however." Xath watched as she stuck her hand into the sky.

It was a longshot; he'd either become a (kriff-forbid) Jedi or something, or she was lying. Lies didn't seem like the Jedi way...but what did he know? Instead of paying attention, he focused all his attention on his emotions, giving in to the smug lies that haunted him within.

He opened his eyes and glared at the Jedi. "I don't know what weird kriff this is, but I'm leaving. I've got to get off this freaky planet." He waved over his shoulder as he turned about. However, as he spun, he lifted a bit of his robe to reveal the glare of a saber. Most likely she'd be the only one who'd recognize it...

And if she knew what was best for the people there, she'd follow him instead of starting a fight right then and there.

 

[Eileen Van Alasdaire]

She remained silent, her smile never wavering as he spoke. Eileen could tell that he’d been backed into a corner. The difference between the two of them was that she was willing to identify herself and be truthful with everyone around them. No matter who you were, most can tell honest when they see it.

“Dull Senses specifically attacks all senses, not just your mind, as for whether you -“

She was moments away from informing him that she agreed, his departure was best, when the other overplayed their hand completely. Revealing the lightsaber was not only incredibly bold, even if unnoticeable to others she could see it. And if she could see it, her most powerful ally could help her end this here and now - The Force.

“Back, NOW!”

Eileen didn’t even hesitate, nor did she really think about what she was doing, instead of blasting light from her palms as she intended, she instead grasped the hilt of her opponent’s saber with the Force, willing it towards her as she moved her own saber in the way - both to ensure it would be cut before it even reached her hand, and to make sure she could protect herself if it became ignited, or he tried hand to hand combat.

Spoiler: OOC

Let’s traumatize my new Jedi. Adds some conflicting emotions if civvies die.

@DarkSaber

 

[Nobody]

Xath wanted to start sadistically laughing--this Jedi obviously cared nothing for these people, not to mention lying. So much for the light side. He shook his head as she gripped his saber with the Force, reaching out with his own hand as he stayed the blade midair, halfway in between them.

It shook with the stress, but Xath seized his blaster, aiming at her and firing twice at her torso. The citizens gasped as they realized both had lied completely. They knew little of what to do; most scrambled to get away. She'd be forced to lose her focus on the saber as it should fly back towards him.

Nevertheless, he pocketed his gun and seized his second saber, sawing off the tip of a blaster a civilian pointed at him point-blank. He then charged, saber in front of him, his other hand outstretched to receive his second saber as the Jedi hopefully released it.

Spoiler: OOC

Hey, makes it more fun. For the sake of PvP, let's say all the civilians are scared of both force users and scramble completely. Also, Death Enabled, but let's try to avoid that unless given extreme circumstances. As of now, both have a good quarter of their stamina drained from force powers.

@Aurius

 

[Eileen Van Alasdaire]

Eileen’s hair began to stand up on end as she realized her mistake. Nobody here was even bothering to listen, and her attempt to end this without anyone getting hurt seemed to be impossible now. They’d die if they fought the Sith, she needed to contain this now. The Vahla was completely acting on instinct at this point, the stress of the situation dawning on her.

She reversed the hilt’s direction, activating the crimson blade and attempting to shove it into the Sith’s shoulder. Simultaneously Eileen stepped forward to block his incoming blaster fire, deflecting one harmlessly into a wall, while the second was reflected towards her opponent’s left hand. Neither saber not bolt would be lethal if it managed to hit, but it would hopefully disable him long enough to calm everyone down.

If she moved fast enough, she’d be able to stop him from swinging that blade at anybody else but her. The Vahla was paying no attention to the civilians, even as one raised to fire at her. Her instincts continued protect her, moving her body to the side and loosening her grip on the main saber to do so, hoping activating and shoving it forward would do enough. It seemed the locals intended to kill them both. She kept her guard up near his blade, but elected at that moment to make a deal with the devil - she couldn’t fight him and this amount of blaster users - she doubted either of them would survive if they all started firing at once. It was necessity - Eileen would deal with him right after this.

“I dislike this as much as you do - they’ll kill us both. What say we put the kids to bed and finish this... so everyone lives this time.”

@DarkSaber

 

[Nobody]

Xath reached out his hand to push the saber elsewhere; he should be good with or without a second one. His other saber jerked backwards and down in order to bounce the deflected bolt straight into the ground.

The Jedi had focus; he thought for sure those bolts would've caught her off guard. Nevertheless, before he could initiate another attack, she spoke.

“I dislike this as much as you do - they’ll kill us both. What say we put the kids to bed and finish this... so everyone lives this time.” Xath thought about it; they'd both already gotten killed nearly by the onlookers, so maybe it was for the best.

He nodded and deactivated his saber, reaching for the other one as it flew into his hand. He now had both, but both were turned off...it might be best to settle their differences, at least in this case, in a different way.

//END THREAD (To be continued)
@Aurius