[OPEN] An Affinity for Blades

[BZenwrath]

Rorick stood in the center of an converted training hangar, his master's saber in hand. Since joining the rebels he had very little time to sleep let alone practice with his saber. It had seen its use on multiple occasions recently but he still felt a little rusty.

In an instant, Rorick shifted Position with controlled slowness, bending almost double while he eased his left foot forward yet kept his weight on his back leg, left and right arms raised above his head in a parry. Taking a pace forward, he shifted his balance, thrusting forward with his blade, then sweeping outwards as he suddenly cut power to the blade. To finish, he straightened the hilt feinting a block, then igniting it once more as it curved up in front of him, a precise execution of Trakata and Djem so.

For hours he fought with a shadow, seeking to improve his skill and comfort with sabers as he did years ago. The shadow had been lost to him over the years and was a welcome reminder of a time when he was younger, and much less skilled. Rorick found that the motions became rather effortless, remembered by instinct rather than conscious thought. Even as his body moved, his mind was still and relaxed, as if it were in a meditative state. His eyes closed, his mind slipping back into a memory of training with this exact routine.

 

[Saul Perth]

Saul walked down the cramped hall with an unusual spring in his step, brought on by the light tapping on his hip. It had been years since he had openly worn a lightsaber, and it made him feel complete to wear his weapon again. Even among allies, it took time before he could be sure that he would be accepted if the men knew he was a Jedi, time in which he'd neglected to practice with his blade. However it was time to rectify that.

Following what he thought was the right direction, Saul made his way to an old hangar he'd heard the Imperial Knights occasionally use for training. A simple burlap sack containing multiple training remotes thumped on his back, matching the beat of the lightsaber on his hip. A minute or so of walking delivered him to the hangar, and any doubt he had about it actually being used as a training room was erased by the familiar hum of a lightsaber cutting through air.

The man Saul was sharing the hangar with was obviously an Imperial Knight, or at least wielded a lightsaber that did not belong to a Jedi. He seemed to be focused on his accelerations, so Saul decided to leave him be as he adjusted the settings on his training remotes. After his adjustments he casually tossed each into the air, set to activate at a randomized time. The former Jedi Knight stared down the orbs with his lightsaber still resting on his hip.

The instant a remote darted into attack position, Saul's weapon rocketed off his belt, and it's sapphire blade sparked to life in his hands. A quick flourish of his blade sent a salvo of training blasts back at their respective remotes, managing to deactivate two. A quick lunge caught a third, while the fourth circled around, attempting to flank him. The Commander used the momentum of his lunge to tuck into an evasive roll, with the remotes blasts leaving minor burn marks on the floor behind him. He cut his roll short with his leg, rising to a knee with his right side and lightsaber now between him and his last adversary. A quick motion of his left hand sent the remote flying off course, impacting the wall with enough force to register as a "kill".

With round one complete, Saul let out a deep breath and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. It had really been some time, and it showed. His lunge was out of place, he should have known it would leave him open to the last droid. A Stormtrooper wouldn't miss those shots like the remote did. Well, just goes to show how rusty I'm getting.

 

[BZenwrath]

Eyes now open, Rorick stopped midway through his routine after hearing the hiss of a lightsabers ignition. Another Knight? He turned to face the newcomer to the room, catching only the last few moments of the unknown blade's own practice. He dialed down his own lightsaber's settings before replacing at his hip. It had been the first person with a lightsaber he had seen in years, he wasn't about to let the opportunity to spar just pass him by. It was an opportunity for him to learn or even teach if the man happened to be less skilled then he. From what he could reason from the short display, he was a skilled swordsman if not a little rough around the edges.

Before moving, Rorick reached for a small hand towel he had, using the force to bring it to his hand. After wiping his brow and hands clean, he brought his attention back to the swordsman. Rorick's pikesaber gracefully flowed through the air from its resting place across the hangar to his hand, using it like a walking stick as he made his way to the mystery man. His guess was that he was a Jedi but he had his doubts. The old cousins of the Imperial Knights were not yet part of the rebellion and he hadn't heard of any Jedi within the rebellion by their own free will. Who was this new contender? There was one way to find out.

"You're almost as rusty as me," He said with a bit of laughter in his voice. He extended his arm in a friendly handshake, "Hello there, I'm Marshall Helmt."

 

[Saul Perth]

"You're almost as rusty as me. Hello there, I'm Marshall Helmt."

Saul shared in the Marshall's laughter and shook his hand.

"My name is Saul Perth, former Jedi Knight and now Commander for the Alliance. Your right though, I don't remember so much as turning this on in months, rusty hardly begins to describe it."

He laughed again before gesturing to the Marshall's pike.

"A rare weapon, what's the hilt made of?"

 

[BZenwrath]

"Ah," he said, raising his arm balancing the pike with 2 fingers at the halfway point. "It's been a project over the years; it's a durasteel frame and body with a songsteel coating." He quickly twisted his and back around, catching the pike and returning it back to its resting position. "I hope to redesign it eventually but finding material is a difficult task. I have to say though, its not often some one takes note of the substance, you have a keen eye."

"So, it seems we're both in need of refreshing our skills with the saber," he stated with a sort of eagerness gleaming from his eyes, "Mind if I join you Commander?"

 

[Saul Perth]

"Mind if I join you Commander?"

"Of course, it'd be my pleasure Marshall. What did you have in mind? A sparring match, or would you like to have a go against the remotes?"

Although remote training was valuable to any saber wielder, Saul could tell by the gleam in the man's eye that it was going to be the first option. In all truth, his own eyes probably matched the expression. It had been literally years since he'd crossed blades with anyone, and he was eager to correct that.

((OOC: Sorry this took so long, been a hectic week. Still couldn't even get to my computer to write this.))

 

[BZenwrath]

((OOC: Don't worry, I definitely know how you feel ;)))

"A sparring match if you don't mind, commander. It feels like a century since I last felt the heat of a duel." His reply trailing off as he took a few steps away from the ex-jedi. When he came to a stop about 15 feet from the man, he turned back around to face him again. While adjusting his clothing a bit and rotating his hands at the wrist, Rorick continued, "Ready Commander Perth?"

The man replied as he was rotating his shoulder, loosening up a stiff and stubborn old injury. He bowed, cupping his pike under his arm. Without a second thought, he twirled the pike from the center of the weapon, catching it under his arm and igniting the blade to reveal a fiery orange blade. The Jedi seemed to have a raw quality about him and he wanted to test him by giving him the first move. Rorick began circling his opponent, spinning his weapon in a form that always kept the pike in motion around his body. It would alternate sides; to and fro, but increasing speed exponentially until the weapon itself was lost in the motion.

 

[Saul Perth]

"Ready Commander Perth?"

Saul gave a nod as the Marshal turned and paced out his distance. Watching patiently as Rorick began to circle him, he analyzed Helmt's footwork, form, and weapon. A lightsaber pike afforded it's wielder a particular set of strengths, with a matching particular set of weaknesses. Saul would have to keep both in mind if he wished to emerge victorious.

The Commander simply watched the Marshal until he began to leave his vision to his left. With a simple quarter turn, he brought his opponent back into full view, now slightly on his right, still carefully watching the orange blur of Rorick's blade. He allowed Rorick a few more paces, watching his eyes narrow slightly at a sign of motion. Now just a bit to Saul's right, he watched the Marshal's eyes relax slightly before bursting into action.

With a burst of Force enhanced speed, Saul closed the distance between the two in the blink of an eye, igniting his blade as he charged. He timed his attack when the hilt of Rorick's pike was passing in front of him, with his blade beginning to move behind him in his spinning pattern. This way, to counter Saul's charge, Rorick would have to completely reverse the considerable momentum of his dura- and songsteel hilt.

The former Jedi did not commit himself to a strike however, he held his blade in his right hand, forward and slightly up with his elbow bent, with his left drawing closer to support his grip as he neared his target. He kept his attention focused on Rorick, waiting for a reaction as he neared. This was what he referred to as an aggressive feint, a highly aggressive opening maneuver to throw an opponent off, while waiting to receive and counter an off balanced defense.

Edit: I forgot to mention, Saul is wearing his civilian clothes with no other weapons. Anything I should know about Rorick?

 

[BZenwrath]

((OOC: He's wearing his black and red hoodie and has his other saber attached at his hip. Other than that there's really not anything else. Btw I'm not the best at combat writing so bare with me as I attempt to get better ;)))

Rorick watched his opponent study his form as he prepared himself for an attack. The Jedi's movements were swift; faster than what he had expected for sure but not as speedy as a committed strike would be. Still though, Perth's lunge would come at his front when Rorick's own weapon would be at his side. In response, flipped his forearm and wrist, a simple maneuver that most staff like weapon users would know to reverse the flow of motion without reversing the cycle of movement. The weapons clashed, the commander's half-committed attack being deflected by the force of Rorick's pike.

Rorick had allowed the attack to close too much ground between them. He knew his weapons weaknesses and strengths and his current position would only give his sparring partner the upper hand. A quick force leap back, the momentum of the weapon found itself stopped by the underside of his right arm, the blade angled down towards the ground.

Now the Marshal had a small enough space granted to him for a counter. A bit of gathered force propelled him forward as he swept the blade from waist to opposite shoulder towards his opponent, letting his own move carry him into a spin. In a split second, the momentum of his attack would carry the blade back around full turn, but first there was another attack hidden within the maelstrom. A reverse hook delivered by his left foot would be delivered while he was still mid turn. Finally as the flurry came to a close the blade would once again slash diagonally, but this time from shoulder to waist.

 

[Saul Perth]

((OOC: I'm no expert either, but you seem to be holding your own at the very least. That thing about the Sith was actually true. Xanthus if you remember him, Sith Assassin with a pike.))


Saul's first instinct was to dash after Rorick and not surrender his close range advantage. However, he decided to hold his ground and conserve his energy. The Marshal had done him a service allowing him the first strike, despite the weapon match up favoring otherwise. Now the Commander returned the favor, knees slightly bent, blade held in a two-handed grip from the waist, angled up and slightly to the left. His opponent charged, a powerful swing in the works to cut him from his left waist to his right shoulder. Saul had a brief recollection to his first encounter with a Sith, all in black armor and wielding a pike not unlike the one he faced now. This maneuver worked then, so why not now?

With a few paces left Saul sprang into action, leaping more forward than up, Saul brought his blade down from his right shoulder to meet Rorick's in what was something of a block, but mostly leverage. Using the Marshal's own blade, the Ataru user lept over the power swing. The ex-Jedi landed a few meters behind his opponent. He took his few seconds of respite to more closely examine the hangar.

The floor had been completely cleared, leaving nothing of use to Saul. He did however make note of the walkways that lined the three inner walls of the hangar, in addition to cutting through the middle, ending a few meters before the shield door that separated the hangar from the cold void. They might be of use to him, but he'd keep that card up his sleeve for a while.

Saul again put himself on the defensive, but in a much different stance. He dropped into a crouch with his left foot forward, left arm fully extended with an open palm, with his blade held back near his shoulder and blade angled slightly down. There he waited, muscles tense and eyes locked on Rorick.

 

[BZenwrath]

Rorick followed his opponents escape with his eyes, letting his body skid to a halt and his polearm continuing its rotation once again. Well, it seemed they were both testing the field of play; prodding the defenses of their styles. It was odd, the jedi was able to leap right through the attack as if it hadn't crossed in front of him. The defining aspects of a staff like weapon like Rorick's was fluid by nature, requiring the user to be in almost constant motion. While the pike would give him a slight advantage in such an open floor, if he were funneled he would have to give it up, switching to his more familiar two handed blade.

Without another second passing, Rorick darted towards Perth again, his attack now swifter than his first. Before he met him head on he slid into a reverse sweep that would force the commander to either leap away or above him. Rorick would expect the latter of the two, letting the momentum of the sweep carry his pike around and upwards in a vertical cut from toe to head. If the Jedi jumped above him it would force him to block the attack rather than allow him an attack of opportunity.

Once clear, Rorick would step into a defensive guard facing his opponent; blade pointed towards his enemy at stomach height, gripping at mid and end of the hilt, prepared to reply to any incoming head on attacks with a quick succession of stabs.

 

[Saul Perth]

((OOC: Apologies for that poor description, I was half asleep and shouldn't have tried to do anything which required more detail than slice-slice-stab. Also I'm going to have Saul attempt to counter-charge instead of defending, due to his ready stance when Rorick charged him.))

As his opponent charged towards him, Saul let his body relax just a bit. Focusing intently on Rorick, Saul rapidly withdrew his outstretched hand, before rocketing it back to full extension. A strong Force push sent a blast of high pressure air at the Marshal. With no intentions of giving up his advantage so easily this time, Saul charged back into striking distance, his movements aided by a minor use of Force speed.

While closing the distance, Saul readied his strike. His right arm passed from it's ready position to over Saul's head, looping around to gain momentum before slashing diagonally from his right shoulder to left hip. Expecting Rorick to cross blades with him and use the leverage of his pike to stop his attack dead, Saul kept his left hand free. If the two blades became deadlocked, Saul would reach under the lock and grab the elongated hilt of the pike. Once the motion of the pike was inhibited, Saul could strike again, forcing Rorick to back off, either by removing his hand from the middle of the hilt, or dropping his weapon completely and drawing his second blade.

 

[BZenwrath]

((OOC: I apologize for the long wait, busy life and all that. I also apologize for the short post, the forum ate the last one...))

The Marshal brought the blade up, appearing as though their sabers would clash into one another. Instead, Rorick's leaned to the side and his blade dispersed at the last moment, passing his opponents saber entirely and reigniting on the other side. With a sudden reversal of his weapon, Rorick's blade would clash against his opponents from the opposite side, knocking his attack far wide. Simultaneously, the pike's pummel would strike against the side of Perth's head, though only hard enough to cause a small headache.

Following that momentum, Rorick pivoted on his foot; spinning himself away from his opponent while delivering a reversed strike from under his arm. Rorick did not expect the stab to land on its mark but it was more of a means to regaining his distance again. Once fully around again, Rorick would leap back a few feet and begin circling his opponent again in the same fashion that the match began with.

 

[Saul Perth]

((More than a month later, I'm awesome. I completely forgot about this.))

Helmt's use of Trakata managed to catch Saul by surprise, enough at least that the Marshal managed to just slightly catch the Commander's head with the pommel of his pike. Stunning him enough to not attack Rorick's exposed back as he spun away, as he'd left Saul's blade unengaged. A two-handed swipe knocked the thrusting Pike to Saul's left as the Marshal retreated and began to encircle him again. Saul gave no pursuit and shook his head clear before drawing on the Force to assist in leaping onto the upper catwalk. The handrails would make it almost impossible to use a pike effectively, and he was curious how Rorick would react.