Knights of the Old Republic: Rise of the Reavers

[Charon]

Riv Sivrak opened one eye and looked over at the Jedi Master who had, technically, been a Jedi for a shorter amount of time than him. But some were made to be Masters, others weren't.

Riv had been going through his training, trying to figure out a particular tricky Makashi parry. Closing off his senses, letting his muscles remember the way the blade moved. Though, without a live practice dummy the process was a bit harder. When Brianna spoke Riv stepped out of his stance and bowed to the Jedi Master.

"Of course, Master Brianna. What is it?"

[Cynical Cat]

"There is a new arrival, Asarak. He is . . . headstrong." She was quiet for a moment. "He is also strong in the Force and not unskilled in its techniques. If he learns to master himself and discard his prejudices, he could do great good. I would like you to help him."

[Charon]

Riv smiled just a little. It wasn't exactly uncommon knowledge that Riv's preferred way of dealing with headstrong and stubborn students was to smack them repeatedly with a thick stick in "practice duels".

"You know Master, there are many who say the same of me. Is this some coy way of getting two troublemakers to temper each other out?" The little smile turned Wolfish, literally.

Riv bowed low then, becoming serious again. "I will see what I can do, Master Brianna."

[Cynical Cat]

"No, this is a way of not wasting a potentially powerful Jedi by assigning him a tutor that will neither be awed nor intimidated by him. You've done excellent work so far, but it takes more than skills with weapons to be a Jedi. I should know. The Exile taught me that."

She ignited her lightsaber. The double bladed weapon had a silver blade. Lightstaff's were weapons that were almost as dangerous to their users as to potential enemies but Brianna had been a master of the staff and a Echani adept long before she had bean a Jedi Knight. In her hands the weapon could reach its full potential. "I believe you were working on a parry when I entered."

[Charon]

Riv nodded to himself. "I know, but we each must start with where we are led, and then expand our talents from there. And your confidence in me will, I hope, not be misplaced."

Riv took a step or two back when Brianna lit her lightstaff, not out of fear or worry, he was simply giving the master space and to be able to prepare himself as well. Riv slid into the stance again and the green blade came to life with a crack. "Yes master. It is usually meant against a single blade, but I believe I can adjust the parry to suit the environment."

It wasn't a matter of Riv bragging, it was a simple fact. He was exceptionally gifted with a lightsaber, and had spent much of his training in learning how to use one. He was not as good as most masters, but he was far and away better than most of his peers. The other side of the coin however was that the Shistavanen was nowhere near as talented in many of the flashier aspects of the use of the force, or the more subtle affects one could use on others.

[Cynical Cat]

"We all must adjust to circumstances. Martial arts training tells us to use our environment to our advantage. But we are more than merely martial artists. We are Jedi. Let the Force guide you."

The lower blade vanished and she swung the now single bladed lightsaber in a powerful, overhead arc.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Asarak entered the room soon after Lightsabers were ignited, and talk of a parry began. He sat on a pad and watched. However he watched less with his eyes, and more through the force. He opened his mind and felt outward, sensing the ebb and flow of the force, attempting not only to predict their movements, but understand the logic in their stance and position.

[LadyTevar]

Trys returned to the Sunrise, giving the all-clear to the men inside before the ramp dropped. As it closed up behind her, she walked to the cockpit. "Ok, boys, I just need to contact Uncle, and then we're paid and on our way. Any ideas where to go next?"

As she said that, Trys sent an automated message on the comms. From what she knew, it would go to an answering service, which would then be forwarded on to her Uncle, wherever he might be at the moment. Trys was half-expecting to fight back to Corellia to finish this job. It would be nice if Uncle was on Coruscant.

[Cynical Cat]

The smiling blue face of Trys's "uncle" appeared on the holoprojector. "Trys my dear. I'm glad that you're back. How was the Outer Rim?"

[Charon]

Riv's blade came up just slightly, as was common among Makashi maneuvers most of the movement came from the wrist, and caught the tip of Brianna's blade with the center of his. His arm twisted slightly, to give him better use of the proper muscles and then he flicked his saber hard, pushing the master's blade away from his own body and down, ensuring she would need a split second to recover.

As Riv began to move his blade back up, Brianna made her move. Riv had expected some sort of physical assault, he'd considered the same, but he hadn't expected it to be so fast and powerful. Brianna's foot lashed out before Riv could turn to deal with the attack and the Shistavanen bounced along the floor before coming to a stop. Riv was a tad slower getting to his feet, and bowed to Brianna.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Asarak watched the move. It was odd. It was a movement common to Makashi, however the power involved and the wider arc than normally used marked it as someone who was just beginning, who had perhaps began his training with a more powerful, or acrobatic form.

It had been a while since he had sparred with someone of his level of skill. Once the Master dismissed herself and he would no longer be interrupting, Asarak felt the need to remedy this.

[LadyTevar]

The smiling blue face of Trys's "uncle" appeared on the holoprojector. "Trys my dear. I'm glad that you're back. How was the Outer Rim?"

"Adventuresome as always, Uncle. You send me to all the nicest places," Trys answered with a grin. "Although, I don't think I want to go back there, nothing but a big hole in the ground if you ask me."

[Cynical Cat]

"The things we do for love of the Republic, my dear."

[LadyTevar]

"Indeed. Are you on Coruscant, Uncle? I think the Jedi want us to move off their parking pad," Trys teased. "I'm sure you already have another trip in mind for us either way."

[Cynical Cat]

"Students of Makashi are particularly prone to focusing too much on the blade and not enough on the opponent," Brianna said. "You face your opponent, not merely the blade she wields."

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"My dear, so business like. What happened to the star eyed little girl I used to know? As a matter of fact I might have something for you in a few days. Keep it under your hat, will you?"

[Charon]

Riv nodded. "Truth be told, I had considered a physical attack of my own, and had expected you would as well. I underestimated the speed and power of the attack however. I thank you for your assistance in my training."

[Cynical Cat]

"Unearned victories do not improve the student," said Brianna. "The purpose of training is learning, not ego reinforcement. Only when truly fights does one truly understand."

[LadyTevar]

"My dear, so business like. What happened to the star eyed little girl I used to know? As a matter of fact I might have something for you in a few days. Keep it under your hat, will you?"

"The star-eyed little girl learned a few things from her Uncle," Trys laughed. "A good thing I did, because one of those lessons was how to keep my mouth shut." Unlike her mother, was the unsaid joke there.

"I'll keep my schedule open. The cargo we dropped on Corellia went for a good price, so I might let the crew have a couple days here on Coruscant."

[Cynical Cat]

"Excellent my dear. You can contact me at the Senator's offices on Coruscant."

[LadyTevar]

"I'll happily take you up on that," Trys replied, still grinning, "As long as you have time for dinner with your niece at some point. But for now, I will have to find a parking lot for a few days. Have a good evening Uncle."

[Cynical Cat]

"Good night niece. Stay away from the pretty boys and don't get into too much trouble."

[LadyTevar]

Trys chuckled, thinking of Zeke, who wouldn't exactly fit the 'pretty boy' category. "I will Uncle. Until later..." she replied, signing off and letting the Holoprojector go dark.

"Ok, boys, three day Furlough on Coruscant, don't spend your money all in one place!" Trys called over the comm system before switching it to the Coruscant flight authority. It took a few minutes to get clearance, another several minutes to get out of a holding pattern, and then finally to a decently priced berth.

It was an area where single-ship owners like Trys could set down for a few days and pick up passengers or cargo, away from the Military or Main Starport. The lofty towers of the Jedi Academy and the Senatorial Chambers were visible in the distance, but this part of Coruscant was for the working man. A few hotels for those who wanted a few days off their ships, bars and eateries serving the comfort foods for dozens of species, and just places for ships crews to spend their money well, if not that wisely.

"All aground who's going aground," Trys said as the ramp setted to the plastcrete.

[Charon]

"Unearned victories do not improve the student," said Brianna. "The purpose of training is learning, not ego reinforcement. Only when truly fights does one truly understand."

It was an old lesson that had been beat into Riv repeatedly, and still needed beaten into him occasionally. "Of course, master. But I must ask, Jedi such as you and I and many of those here now have had their trials by fire, what of the next generation of Jedi?"

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Unearned victories do not improve the student," said Brianna. "The purpose of training is learning, not ego reinforcement. Only when truly fights does one truly understand."

Asarak took this as an opportunity. Sometimes people chose to spar with sabers. However Asarak preferred having one's mistakes and more particularly the other person's mistakes punished with pain, not with the hope that one or the other will pull their strike on the much greater pain of dismemberment. As a result, he grabbed two practice sticks out of a holder.

Then the other Padawan asked a question, and he held his tongue.

[Agent Fisher]

The shuttle set down on it's skids, the engines whining as they shut down. It was a battered, scorched G-Type. It wasn't new, or secondhand, or even thirdhand. Kelran Braka was pretty sure it was at least fourth or fifthand. 15,000 credits. It didn't look flashy, scorch marks scattered all over, a few faded emblems of the previous owner. As the ramp opened, Kel breathed a sigh of relief, popping the seals on the helmet and removing it. The life support had been on the fritz lately, and the helmet was necessary to ensure he didn't die in mid flight if the life support failed.

He stood from his seat, walking to his locker and shrugging off the flight gear, leaving him in his dark green flight suit. He pulled out his dark brown jacket, slipping it on as the Berth owner walked to the ramp.

"Braka, welcome back. You've got the pay?" The Duros asked, grinning.

Kel nodded, tossing down a cred card. "It's there, four day pay, as normal." The Duros caught the card and nodded. "Good. Have a fun stay."

Kel returned to his locker, grabbing his holster and blaster pistol, hooking it around his thight, checking the charge on the weapon before putting it back in the holster.

********

He pushed open the door, stepping into the bar/grill. It was mainly a Corellian place. With a sigh, the grey haired man sat himself down at the bar, ordering a drink and some food.