The Hunt [CLOSED]

[Number-75]

Riaz De'lora. A man of many skills. A former Imperial Assassin that had stolen several extremely confidential documents before deserting. He was currently on Nar Shaddaa, trying to escape from Imperial Forces that were hunting him down and trying to make it to Alliance lines in hops of begging for shelter. Rather regrettably for him, the decision of what to do with the former assassin had already been decided the instant GAIA had become aware of his heading. They would have no pity on the former assassin and end him before he could reach a friendly ear. While Riaz may have had a chance, that chance was quickly dashed by the mere choice of assassin. Leo Dom, the son of a pair of CEO's of a company that had canceled a contract with the Empire. The Empire had gotten a team of assassins to kill them in answer. Riaz was the only one of these assassins that was still alive after all these years. And Leo was given strict instructions to slay him and neutralize any of the pursuing Imperial forces or force them to retreat.

As Riaz dashed through a warehouse district, his muscles screamed at him. He was almost there, so close to safety. The next ship would get him off this hellhole and into safety. All he had to do was cut through a warehouse and he'd be safe. He desperately searched for a warehouse with a broken lock or open door, finding to his dismay that many of them had recently repaired or replaced their locks. Had he not been running for his life, he would've found this alarming. Instead he just merely dashed into the first open door he found. He looked around, noting how he'd ended up in an abandoned warehouse. As he looked around, he saw a shimmer in the distance. He barely had time to swear before 2 .339 JHP rounds hit him, one of them slamming into his chest while the 2nd one slammed into his head. There was very little left of the head or the back of the man's chest afterwards. The body fell with a quiet thud. A split second later, a muffled thump could be heard by those right next to the door of the warehouse or in the warehouse itself as the sound or the bullets being fired caught up with the bullets themselves.

Leo smiled as the man dropped dead. Even though the first shot was a sure kill shot, he still added a second one, for pleasure and vengeance. He was at the end of the warehouse, the scope on his sniper rifle set to infrared and directly interfaced into his goggles. He had opted to leave his cloak off, having covered his faded white armor with a fair amount of assorted trash to make a makeshift camouflage suit. Even though the primary objective was down, he still had to neutralize the perusing forces and after that, he could retire. Without wasting another thought, Leo waited for another target to present himself, training the rifle on the door.

(OOC: OK Zach, warehouse is 500M long, 100M wide, and consists of two floors. First floor is in the picture and second floor is just some rusted catwalks. Also, if you enter, feel free to detect Leo and immediately take cover. I won't shoot your character until after your introduction post.)

 

[Zach]

Ruthric made his way through the alleyways, meaning to cut off his target from the other side. Somehow, Riaz had managed to get ahead of him, cutting through a blocked off area that seemed too barricaded to cut through easily. As he made his way towards the other end of the warehouse district, he felt the screaming emotions of terror emanating off the man, along with an eery echo of rusted metal grinding together. With a quick slam, the target was inside, taking refuge and waiting for it to all blow over. Dashing across the obstacles in the ally, the assassin made his way to the warehouse, opening it with the Force as he approached. No sooner than he'd taken three steps inside, Riaz went down, taking a round to the chest and a second to the face. His head nearly exploded from the impact of the projectile round, his body flopping harmlessly to the ground. Ruthric darted to the side as soon as he'd seen what happened, taking cover behind a large pile of crates that almost reached the overhanging catwalk.

He'd been beaten to the chase. Obviously he wasn't alone, so he immediately took cover and sensed out with the Force. He wasn't sure what awaited him, but he wasn't about to let his guard down to find out. He mildly suppressed his Force Signature, opening his senses and searching for life signs and gathering energy in his left hand with the Force. He felt only one presence nearby, but not a Force-sensitive. Perhaps it was only a soldier or assassin, though he'd met mercenaries with skills that could best even a Jedi Knight.

"Killed my target," he called audibly, his voice echoing through the warehouse. "Worthy skills, to beat me to the punch," he continued calmly, hoping to get a response from the assassin. Perhaps this could turn out differently than an assassin stakeout on each other.

 

[Number-75]

Leo heard the sound of a door being opened somewhere. If he had to guess, it was the Imperial retrieval squad. Leo looked around, finding no other heat signature but the cooling body of Riaz. Training and instinct kicked in and Leo tapped a button on his wrist, causing him to shimmer out of existence. As he turned invisible, Leo got up and started to move to another vantage point, his sniper rifle still in hand.

Someone yelled out and Leo paused momentarily, tilting his head slightly before he continued to prowl towards one of the walls. There was only one voice. He had expected them to bring an entire squad instead of a single person. Or maybe the other were staying silent in hopes of getting the drop on him. Still, this did not matter. Preparedness was on his side here. He had time to make plans as to where to go in the event he had to engage other hostile forces. He spoke up, throwing his voice so it would sound as if he were still in the middle of the warehouse.

"Target was free. Hutt space does not belong to either side. Retreat now. Lingering will result in the application of hostile force against you and any other men you may have with you. 1 minute to decide. Non negotiable."

As Leo spoke, he managed to reach one of the walls. He turned around so that his back was towards the wall and attached his rifle to a holding plate on his chest plate. After ensuring that the rifle was secure he engaged the magnetic pads on the back of his armor. With a nearly silent click his armor attached to the metal walls of the warehouse. Waiting for a response from the hostile, Leo began to slowly crawl up the wall, aiming to make it to the roof of the warehouse so he could have a vantage point over the enemy retrieval unit.

 

[Zach]

"Target was free. Hutt space does not belong to either side. Retreat now. Lingering will result in the application of hostile force against you and any other men you may have with you. 1 minute to decide. Non negotiable."

Ruthric heard the response echoing through the warehouse, making his location indistinguishable. If anything, it would allow the assassin the same protection, but he'd still be careful to keep his guard up. He'd seen the target get taken down by a sniper, so it was likely that his adversary was against one of the walls. He wondered how talented and skillful he was, but he sounded military from his pattern of speech. If anything, it seemed like he'd have an opportunity to put his skills as an assassin to the test.

Ruthric took a brief moment to conceal himself, bending the light around his body with the Force. His figure was hidden, blanketed by the pocket of light around his body, but it was only a beginning to his means of stealth. His constant concentration on suppressing his signature in the Force was sustained, muffling his presence, but it wasn't of his main concern. The man that had called out to him was acting by means of non-sensitivity in the Force, so it wasn't too much he'd have to worry about.

Ruthric backed up against the wall, edging silently across its flat surface, careful not to make any noises. He felt the tiniest of vibrations reverberate through the wall, a skill he'd picked up from tracking the Aganof with Master Sanayana. The beast was blind and deaf, relying only on its sense of motion and vibrations through its surroundings. The Force aided in Ruthric's ability to sense this, but it was not practiced nearly enough to know where it came from. The only thing he knew, was that his suspicion of his opponent being against the wall was confirmed. With a basic amount of sensory, Ruthric searched out for life forms, looking for the connection with the Force that all living creatures held.

He detected the presence on the far side of the warehouse, at least a good four hundred meters from his current position. It would take some time to ease his way over there, but he was sure the shooter was thinking similarly. "If that's the way it's going to be, then so be it," he finally called back, raising his voice with the Force in addition to the echoing walls of the warehouse. The loss of his target was no major catastrophe, as he was only ordered to kill the man. How it happened was insignificant. "I think you'll find little to gain by meeting me in battle," he advised, silently making his way across the wall to the back of the room.

 

[Number-75]

Leo noted the speakers response and slowly bought his elbow to a piece of metal above him. It seemed that the speaker was still the only one that had been sent. Wise. It appears the Empire was not stupid enough to send a whole hit team to neutral space. Still, this could mean two things. Either this assassin was extremely skilled or Riaz wasn't important enough to send more then one assassin after it. Seeing as Riaz was carrying several extremely top secret files, it was... unlikely that he was unimportant. That meant this assassin was highly competent.

Finally, Leo decided to answer the assassin, male by the sounds of it. "I have orders. Orders are absolute. The issue of my own personal gain is not a factor here. Your answer has determined you will not retreat peacefully. Lethal fire will be administered. Do not expect mercy until you retreat or die. No more communications will occur."

Leo scanned the area once again with the standard filters on his cameras. Once again, they showed no hits. This meant cloaking of sorts. Leo locked the back and lower torso of his armor, causing him to stop movement and stick onto the wall, only a meter from it. Quickly, with an accuracy stemmed from years of practice, Leo tapped a button on the left side of his helmet that switched it to heat vision while his right hand grabbed his rifle of the chest holding plate on his armor. Quickly, the world turned to various shades of colors symbolizing various levels of heat.

Leo quickly spotted the other assassin's heat signature, clinging to the wall. Silently bringing the rifle up, Leo observed the other assassin's motions for a second from his scope. It seemed that the other assassin was inching along the wall in an attempt to get to him. Leo aimed the rifle at a point just slightly ahead of the other assassin's path, only a second or two in front. As soon as he settled the rifle, he locked all his armor save for his arms, waiting for the man to edge himself in front of the rifle.

As the man edged himself in front of the rifle, Leo aimed at the man's left shoulder and squeezed the trigger, sending a .338 JHP round at 800M/S, in hopes to hit a critical wound to dissuade the man from continuing the fight. However, despite the high end muffler and silencer, the recoil sent massive vibrations through the wall, a ever so slightly visible flash could be seen, and a muffled thud would be heard a second or two after the rifle was fired.

 

[Zach]

The assassin made his way past the side of the warehouse, inching closer to the opening from the line of boxes before him. He expected his opponent to be watching for his every move, having taken out the target from far away and responding so officially. As he approached the exposed area, despite being concealing through the Force and visible light, he prepared one of the grenades around his waist, securing his grip on the lash bang with the Force. With his right hand, he shifted the hilt attached to his forearm to his palm and held it steady, sensing for the moment his target had the intent of attack.

Without warning, a burst of light flared from the corner of the warehouse, revealing the shooter's location and releasing a solid projectile as the round's casing jettisoned from the rifle. The blade of Ruthric's lightsaber was activated swiftly, burning through the shot's physical material. The pressure of the blast had recoiled slightly, causing the Sith Master to tighten his grip, but responded shooting the canister straight towards the flash. He aimed it slightly above, meaning to strike him in the face when it went off. For the brief second and a half he had before being engulfed by a blinding light, Ruthric did two things; the first of which was remotely activating the polarization of his ocular implants to shield against the burst of blinding light.

The second thing he did was strengthen the focus he held on the hilt of his lightsaber. Enhancing the constant grip he kept on his weapon, Ruthric tossed the blade as a spinning disc, slightly to the side of the shooter assassin if case he darted. The only other means of escape was to plunge straightforward, but by the time his saber reached him, his vision would be useless. The only way he would have been able to detect Ruthric's presence was through heat-sensor vision, detecting the signature emanating from his body. If this was the case, there was little to fear, as flash bangs effected even those types of technology, as they did with droids.

As the canister went off, and while Ruthric's opponent was reacting, his polarized vision instantly adjusted, leaving his vision unimpaired. He motioned with the arm that he'd thrown the canister with the Force from, summoning a lightsaber from the hip of his body. He activated it with his left hand and prepared it defensively across his torso, ready to deflect a rapid last shot. With enough time for a single step, he began into a charge, ready to adjust the defensive angle of his blade into an upwards slash through his left arm, or his legs if he attempted to flee upwards somehow. His thrown attack would come back before he arrived, but keeping a constant motion of action would give him an advantage.

((My last paragraph takes place during the first action of your response.))

 

[Number-75]

Leo didn't swear or even take time to breath after his shot. He saw what appeared to be a grenade coming for his head through the scope and training kicked in. With a flick of the wrist and neck, he demagnetized his armor as he kicked off the wall, sending him flying off. The flashbang went off where he used to be while he was in the air, screwing up his infrared camera and causing his suit's onboard computer to switch to the next unhindered camera, the unfiltered unit, just in time for him to see a lightsaber flying towards him.

Leo tucked into a ball to reduce his silhouette and to prepare for the inevitable impact with the ground, causing his backpack to now be in the way of the lightsaber. He frowned mildly for a second as the lightsaber scored a hit through his backpack, cutting through half of his backup oxygen tanks and exposing the rest while cutting into the suit's bacta dispenser's storage of bacta, causing the light blue liquid to leak and cover parts of his armor, allowing his lower torso's form to be slightly visible compared to the rest of his cloaked self. The thought of what to do with the damaged backpack was pushed aside as the ground loomed in front of him.

Leo hit the ground hard, backpack first, causing several other things in his backpack to crack as he rolled out the rest of the inertial energy. A quick look in the corner of his HUD informed him that it would take 30 seconds for the infrared filter to function once again. Not quick enough. Judging by how the man managed to throw a flashbang and a lightsaber with such accuracy at 400 or so meters, that could mean two things. He was either facing a professional athlete who's sport focused on throwing things accurately, or more realistically, he was facing a force user, a Sith judging by the fact he had a lightsaber on him. Judging by that fact, he had several seconds to come up with something to let his filter to reboot or he'd be in trouble.

Without a second thought, Leo unlatched his backpack, pulling his DC-15A off with his left hand and attaching his sniper rifle to the chest holding plate as he did, and threw it forward and up with his right hand in a fashion in which it still caused the exposed oxygen tanks to face him, sending it a good 10 meters into the air and 30 meters ahead of him. Leo quickly brought his DC-15A up and squeezed the trigger, sending a bolt through the remaining oxygen tanks, igniting them and causing them to explode and turn themselves and the backpack they were contained in into fast flying shrapnel that managed to fly up to 15 meters away from the detonation point.

However, this was not the only thing the explosion managed to do. The explosion managed to cook off about the 30 rounds of loose ammunition that Leo had stored within the backpack, sending .338 rounds flying everywhere. 5 of them were incendiary, 10 of them were JSP, another 5 were JHP, and the final 10 were standard FMJ rounds. They all went off in a random direction, though because of how Leo had arranged the ammo, none of them were sent flying back at him.

As soon as Leo pulled the trigger and the bolt left , he quickly jumped to the side and hit the ground, letting his cloaking device and the cover of darkness cover him. He quickly peered at his HUD and frowned ever so slightly at the readout. He was on his backup air filter, he only had two .338's left, and he would soon have to use the knife he had attached to his lower right leg. As skilled as he was at hand to hand combat, he wasn't exactly willing to take his chances against a possible Sith at close quarters.

(If anything seems iffy, PM me and we'll sort it out.)

 

[Zach]

Ruthric watched carefully as the shooter bounded from the wall, narrowly rolling under his spinning blade. The lightsaber struck through half of the backpack, slicing through the bacta tanks and leaking everywhere. The cloaked figure was revealed from the outline of blueish liquid, sticking to his camouflaged form with each of his movements. The assassin had darted forward during his roll, his motion amplified by the Force with ease from its constant practice.

As the shooter came out of his evasive maneuver, the lightsaber circled around in the opposite direction, flying back to the Sith. In his next step, Ruthric swapped the hilt in his left hand to his right, now pulling the thrown lightsaber to his left palm. Dropping the facade of suppressing his signature in the Force, but still maintaining a significant pocket of light around his body, Ruthric refocused his energy to gather a kinetic blast.

The soldier had thrown the remains of his backpack in the Sith master's direction, spare rounds and oxygen tanks drifting slowly apart. Ruthric dashed forward, cutting through the pack with his second saber, held in the right hand, just as his first thrown weapon came back to him. He prepared to blast out with the built up energy with the hilt of his lightsaber, meaning to plummet the blade through his opponent's chest, but anticipated the oncoming shot from the shifting of his bacta-covered armor.

The round burst from the rifle's barrel, blasting forward into one of the tanks next to Ruthric's side. Without time to react in any other way, he redirected the gathered kinetic energy into the beginning steps of a Force Barrier, expanding and completing its circumference around him. The bubble formed quickly from its continued practice, the motion coming smoothly to Ruthric, as the canisters exploded, igniting the gunpowder within the metallic rounds. The bullets were solid and powerful when produced from the high powered rifle, often leaving its targets dead in their tracks. The flames of the exploded oxygen tanks were enough to spark the rounds, but not at their full potential.

The shots detonated, flying outward against the Sith, but ricocheting off his defenses. His sabers had crossed across his torso defensively, utilizing Tutaminis and the technique of absorbing energy in the tools. From the day he'd learned to absorb and redirect energy in the Force, the assassin had familiarized himself in using it not only with his bare hands, but his lightsabers. The fire and heat from the explosion met with the burning red blade, merging with its pure energy and absorbing into Ruthric's power. The blast wasn't anything significant of an overloading retaliation, nor was it at full potential, due to the drawback of using the sabers instead of his bare hands. With the assistance of lightsabers, the ability was easier to control, acting as a conduit for the energy. With bare hands, it was more beneficial, but harder to concentrate.

The inertia of the blast had halted the assassin in his tracks, pushing against his barrier as his enhanced motion gained momentum. With a brief pause, Ruthric refocused the recently acquired energy and redirected immediately into a powerful kinetic blast. His own focus on the task was honed well enough to summon a significant force on its own, only increasing its power with the boost. With each of his hands, he reached out and aimed for the outlined silhouette, blasting the hilts forward as burning projectiles. The first of his sabers was aimed to pierce through the center of his opponent's rifle, burning straight through its useful parts and blowing past him harmlessly. The second saber plummeted slightly to the shooter's right side, which he'd rolled to. His carried momentum and bracing of the rifle to aim the shot would carry him a little, but even if the soldier managed to halt in his tracks, the blade would still pierce through the side of his gut.

Ruthric's momentum slowed, stopping as he let out the blasts with his sabers. He kept a slight grip on their trajectory, but only to keep them on course, as they'd moved much too fast to be able to steer. His figure was still hidden beneath his sustained Force Cloak, perhaps only given away by the disappearance and absorption of the explosion. If his enemy has been watching, Ruthric's general area would have been revealed, but not his exact location, nor his actions. The field of energy around his body covered the blades of his lightsabers when he wielded them, meaning that the blades would be visible as he shot them. The hilts were sent at a rapid speed and even if he'd seen the attack to plan a counter.

After the sabers left his grip, flying towards his cloaked enemy, Ruthric immediately followed with stepping back with a spin and darting to the side. He didn't watch to see how well he'd wounded his opponent, would be able to summon his sabers once back in the shadows. He'd been pressed during the quick altercation, already feeling slight traces of fatigue. His mind throbbed for a half-second as his concentration on so much was relieved, but still holding his concealed presence. With enough time to spare before the shooter's visual systems would be back online, and a concealed presence, he would be able to determine his next point of attack.

Spoiler: OOC Comments

Force Barrier and Tutaminis: Absorb (incorporated into each other in their structure) in response to the explosion and straying bullets. Redirected the energy into a blast of kinetic energy on the hilts, sending one at your rifle not harming you, the other aimed at your side bound to hit whether your momentum carried you forward, or to graze you if you halted your motion. Followed with darting away, taking place during your response to the two lightsabers.

Since coming out of a roll and immediately throwing the pack and firing it, wouldn't be much of a chance to stabilize your footing to maneuver the opposite direction.

More specifically, gripping an object and focusing the kinetic energy into propelling just that item forward, instead of a blast. Good example would be Galen Marek using Force Push while holding something with the Force in Force Unleashed :D

 

[Number-75]

Leo's response was not orthodox, to say the least. He watched two lightsabers fly towards him as he almost completed his dive to the side. Trajectory indicated that they were aimed at his DC-15A and his own right side. The bacta stains on the lower torso of his armor was surely the only reason that he'd been targeted with a direct attack instead of an area. He was almost past the point of no return and the only way to get him through this would sacrifice his non directed range weapon, something he wanted to avoid, had he had a different option. He didn't, so he executed his dodge.

Though Leo didn't have much time to jump out of the way, he still had his rifle in his hands. As the first lightsaber shot forward, he had changed the position of his body, sticking the DC-15A below him and into the ground. Using his own inertia he jammed the rifle into the ground and used it as a pivot, allowing him to momentarily force his body back up into the air 3 meters and pushing off of it as the lightsaber cut through the DC-15A's barrel. As he twirled in the air, he reached to his right lower leg with his right hand and unsheathed his knife while he pulled a tab on the center of his armor's right hip with his left hand.

The armor on his legs were ejected, sending the stained pieces flying everywhere weakly while returning him into the comfort of near perfect cloaking while Leo tucked into another roll as he hit the ground, a good 10 meters away from the assassin. This time, he diffused the inertia by spinning on the ground to face where the lightsabers had come from, judging by their relatively straight motion, using his left hand as a rotational point while placing his right hand and his knife over his chest in a defensive position, ready to intercept any attack. As he finished his spin, he jumped to his left, a small note on the corner of his HUD signalling that his infrared filters was once again online.

Leo slapped the side of his helmet with his left hand, bringing his infrared back up. However instead of charging, he ripped the sniper rifle from his chest with his left hand and pulled off the sniper's scope as he did. He removed the magazine and threw it forward at the other assassin while flipping his knife into a reverse grip. His rifle landed somewhere near the other assassin, the message hopefully clear. It was time to bring this battle to close quarters as the end loomed closer. Though it was clear that Leo could not hold his ground for long, his primary advantage of extremely long ranged weaponry gone. All that was left was his hand to hand skill and his reflexes.

(OOC: Once again, if anything is wrong or you'd like to debate something, shoot me a message.)

 

[Zach]

Ruthric spun about as he breathed heavily, raising his arms defensively, pulling a pin from his chest and clutching his arm next to it. He wasn't sure what to expect, as the assassin had already proven himself to be skilled. It wouldn't surprise him if he'd managed to avoid the blast of his lightsabers. As the warehouse came into view, he saw his opponent's maneuvered body, dodging around the projectile beams of light as he'd come to his feet. Before noticing the shooter's actions, the assassin brought his lightsabers to his palms, darting to the other side of the room and wandering as his protect cloak in the Force engulfed the hilts.

He turned to face his enemy after the coated armor plates had been dispersed from his suit. His infrared senses wouldn't be online for at least another twenty seconds, but they were both invisible against. From out of thin air slightly to the side of where he'd stood before, a clip of ammo clanged against the ground. Ruthric recognized the challenge, asking for the disregard of other weapons and resort to melee combat. The assassin had experienced many battles in close quarters combat, triumphing even over the most challenging of opponents. The pin he'd pulled was that of a flash bang, clutched between his elbow and side in waiting.

The polarization of his ocular implants flashed over his eyes once more, taking in the view of the discarded clip of ammo. It would have had to be a challenge, throwing away obvious ammo in his direction. The assassin hesitated for only a second, contemplating whether to accept or decline, and tossed a single lightsaber forward from his hip with the Force. There were several others on his body, but needed not remove them all to accept the challenge. Ruthric didn't plan on rearming himself with the blades unless opposed unfairly.

With a small smile, he decided that he would keep the game to purely skill in combat, no longer relying on the advantage of his shielded vision. Deactivating the polarized glasses over his eyes, he lowered his arm downwards, straightening his posture as his prosthetic arm shifted to reveal a short sword protruding from the top of his forearm. The blade clicked into place, snapping with an audible echo as the flash bang clanged to the floor, bursting with a blinding light.

Each of the combatants would be blinded, their vision engulfed by a piercing light. Although Ruthric could sense his opponent in the Force regularly, he dropped his concentration of suppressing his signature and figure altogether. The facade of bent light faded from his body, relaxing the constant pressure of suppressing his signature to refocus his efforts. Honing in on his surroundings, Ruthric sensed out with the Force and detected the man's signature, detecting his life presence and focusing further. As he concentrated fully, moving to barely pierce the surface of his thoughts, he attempted to prepare for a display of illusions. By the time the flash had worn from each of them, the shooter would only see what projections Ruthric desired. His mind was strong, trained against the most basic of infiltration, but Ruthric merely skimmed the surface, perhaps able to summon a single image of himself to maneuver in order to confuse him. There would be no chance of suggesting his own desires to the mind of one with such experience and training, however.

As the assassin focused his energy on this task, he detected the general presence of his worthy foe and advanced, his footsteps bound to give away his basic direction in turn. The click from his sword would surely give him a base where to hear from. Despite each of their inevitable blindness, they would each have a chance as striking each other; camouflage no longer an issue with a lack of sight. Ducking low to his right, the Sith Master plunged his prosthetic arm forward, horizontally across his body. He aimed the short sword for the vulnerable gut of his opponent, who'd detached the covered pieces of armor.

As he plunged his right arm forward, the assassin simultaneously raised his left arm in a defensive curl, leaning his body weight to the right in a boxing stance to quickly slip the blade in and out. If the other assassin had sliced at him from that side, the blade would likely scrap against the plated armor on his forearm, rather than slashing at his face, and if his aim was off in either direction, either the rest of his armor or prosthetic arm would front the blow of its sharp impact. As his momentum followed through, Ruthric shifted more of his weight to his right, extending his left leg outward in a swing with a lightly gathered exertion through the Force. His continued usage of the Force in every motion had come naturally to him, focusing a small portion of his attention, but accustomed to the task from training with Ataru. If Leo was further to Ruthric's left than expected, he would get slammed afar from the force, giving Ruthric time to react before their blindness faded.

Even if the cut was dead on, with only a general feel for the area of his body, but without much chance of evading, it would probably not be lethal. Whether one was bested by the other, the Sith would not end the life of one so talented as he. Perhaps some day in the future, they would be allies, instead of opponents.

 

[Number-75]

Leo frowned as his infrared camera's was forced offline once more, switching him back to his normal cameras. Inside, he was glad that his camera switching system worked by turning the various cameras on and off. Had he not decided to install that system earlier in his career, he was sure that he would've been incapable of holding his ground for as long as he has in this duel. Still, as he scanned the area for any signs of the enemy assassin, he was sure that this duel would soon come to an end. Out of the corner of his visor, he spotted movement. Spinning to the side, he spotted the enemy assassin, rushing toward him.

Leo spotted what appeared to be a blade coming from the man's right arm and he quickly noted and formulated a plan. He was unlikely to win in a battle of attrition since his knife was not designed for prolonged combat against lightsabers, so he would be at a disadvantage in a long fight. So he'd have to end this here with a decisive and precise strike. Leo flipped his knife into his left hand, keeping it in a reverse grip, and prepared himself for his strike, his health be damned. If he couldn't get one man to retreat, then he deserved to die.

As Ruthric thrust his blade forward, Leo moved to the side and charged forward, not to doge, but to maneuver to Ruthric's right side, his right side still in the path of the blade. As the blade came into contact with Leo's armor, the blade's forward motion was stopped for less then a second before it sliced through the flesh below his armor. However, this short delay was all Leo needed, as he wrapped his right arm around Ruthric's arm and grabbed a piece of armor to secure the grip, causing Leo's right arm to form a guide and lock that made it difficult for Ruthric to quickly retract his arm.

As Leo's right arm locked around Ruthric's right arm, Leo's left arm shot up and he held it across his chest and above his right shoulder, angling it downward so it was pointing at the other assassin's cheek. He was aiming to force the man to retreat, and he was sure that an attack that would've been lethal had it been a few centimeters to the right was one that would force the other assassin to retreat.

Despite the number of actions preformed, Leo had done them in a second as he charged forward to close the gap. The gap between the two soon disappeared as Leo finished his charge, aiming to slice the knife on the cheek of the man. Regardless of whether or not the blow landed, Leo would notice the arm crossed over Ruthric's chest, and he'd admit either defeat or mutual defeat.

(OOC: If there is a problem, once again, we shall discuss it over PM's.)

 

[Zach]

Ruthric's whitened sight barely blurred before his slightly open eyes. Nothing was distinguishable or able to be made out, aside from his outreached senses. He'd felt the presence of the other assassin near him, although not where he expected. The short sword on his wrist met a sudden resistance, halting for a moment before piercing through Leo's armor. The blade grazed his side, injuring him only slightly, but blood had been spilled.

Ruthric felt the side of the man's torso angling to his right, moving with his momentum as he leaned to the right. His left leg swung up from the side aimed where the man's head would have been, but glided through the air, reinforcing the suspicion that Leo was to his right flank. Without warning, he felt a sudden vibration through his prosthetic arm, sensing the touch-sensitive nerve programming so he felt contact, but no pain. The assassin had already tried retracting him arm from the jab, pulling the grappled opponent with him to be in range.

Ruthric followed through with his momentum, continuing the raised kick towards Leo's face. His leg whirled around as his body shifted, keeping his arms in place. He felt the edge of his leg smash into something solid, although most of his strength in the blow was wasted from the initial miss. If anything, it would at least knock the assassin from his hold. As he leg swung around, he reached up with his curled arm in defense, meaning to grab him by the neck. His intent was to slam the man to the floor with the momentum of the kick, possibly knocking him unconscious.

As his leg made contact, he felt the cylindrical shape of his wrist behind clenched fingers. It was likely he was wielding a melee weapon, especially in that position, and Ruthric's fingers wrapped around it. He knew not of the blade pointed directly at his face, but it was inconsequential to his actions. The Sith Master pulled at the assassin's arm as his entire body continued in its motion since he'd already been leaning to the right. His constant body motion in addition to the force of his kick would surely throw the shooter off him, directing his motion downward to slam him to the floor.

His attacks had followed through without prevention, and had successfully struck his target. In the following events, Ruthric's opponent was likely to be thrown to the floor, still blind like himself, but disoriented at best.

 

[Number-75]

Leo smashed into the ground and he felt something crack. Possibly a rib. There was no way he could keep this fight up any longer. He was injured in two places and he needed to apply disinfectant to the cut in his side and book it to the nearest GA hospital before it got infected. Still, he doubt he could apply that disinfectant when the enemy assassin was trying to attack him and his orders stated that he had to ensure that the pursuers retreat or died before he himself could retreat. As he laid on the ground, his mind raced. He decided that the best thing to do was to talk it out. He spoke up, his voice sounding bored and the sound of feedback was ever present in the background.

"Well, it seems that I am incapable of continuing this fight. I require immediate medical attention and I must retreat to seek it. However, my orders prevent me from retreating and seeking medical attention so long as you refuse to retreat. If you wish to continue this fight, I will surely succumb to my injuries. Therefore, I must ask if you desire to retreat or give up the fight."

Leo wasn't expecting this to work on the enemy assassin, but if it did, then he was sure that he could retreat. After all, not all fights had to be to the death. And he was sure neither of them wanted to die over the success of the same objective.

 

[Zach]

Ruthric felt the momentum of his body carry with the assassin's, slamming downward into the cement floor with all his force. There was an audible crack from the collision, spiking a vibration through the man's body. Ruthric felt the crunch of bones, and detected two broken ribs and cracks in a third. He had to admit, this one was skilled, and trained well. If he'd been sensitive in the Force, this may have been an entirely different matter.

Coming down into a crouch on his left knee, Ruthric slid from the body, raising the lowered leg over Leo's as he stood. He kept a grip on the man's wrist, yanking the arm backward and bending it into a locked position. He was neutralized, no longer a threat, and as the Sith Master's vision returned, he recognized the depth of his injuries. He wasn't stabbed so badly that he would die quickly, but if it took him too long to administer first aid, he would surely slip into a coma.

He heard the words come from the beaten soldier, requesting Ruthric's submission as he explained his orders and limitations. The assassin scoffed at the attempt of a technical victory, as the target had already been eliminated. Ruthric was no part of this man's mission, nor was he a designated target of any other missions. He'd made sure of that. With a quick smirk, Ruthric pulled his prosthetic arm back into a punch as he yanked with his left, legs still locked over Leo's beaten form.

Ruthric swiftly summoned a surge of the Force in his hand, clenching his fingers into a solid fist of metal. His smacked down the blow with the kinetic blast, sure to pound his opponent's face into the cement hard enough to knock him out. He was sure to be unconscious for a very long time, if he didn't wake up soon.

Narrowing his eyes, Ruthric focused on Leo's signature in the Force, connecting to it and infiltrating the surface barriers. His unconscious form would give him nearly free reign, at least against unguarded protection in his mind, but such defenses have limits even on Jedi in this state. He left a small trace of his Force signature in the back of his mind, destined to wait silently in the shadows of his mind and observe. Perhaps if the assassins would meet again, Ruthric would be able to retrieve this trace.

Deciding to give the man a chance, he relaxed his grip on the body and stood. He focused on sensing out to his presence, connecting in a way so as only to bring back his consciousness. He focused on healing half of the wound he'd taken from the built-in short sword, lessening it's chance of infection. The broken ribs softened in pain, but didn't meld, as they would have to be set properly. Lastly, he brought back his consciousness to a barely aware state. It might take him a few minutes to come to from the daze, but he would survive.

Ruthric then turned to the man's equipment, lifting a hand to summon the items before him. As he searched through the contents of the burned and ripped backpack, his gaze wandered to the center of the warehouse. It was where the challenge had been issued, a display of skills against one another. The full clip of ammo sat silently on the cement, sliding over to the assassin's palm as his attention focused on it. This, if anything, would symbolize his victory over the event.

Turning to leave, he turned his face to the semi-conscious soldier and inclined his head in respect. Whether he would recognize it or not, the assassin felt the need to show the appreciation of a worthy combat, but to let him know that war was war. There is no backing down. The objective always comes first, instead of mindless executions. He walked calmly out of the warehouse, unsettled at his loss of the target, but satisfied in the duel that had followed. The Sith Master made his way to the stealth fighter located nearby and took off from the planet, setting his course for Korriban.