Star Wars: Jedi Academy (IC|Closed)

[Anowa]

"We've got the numerical advantage! Keep up the pressure on him, fight together, and we'll make it through this!"

Martius' attack upon the figure of Revan did take the pressure off, from a certain point of view. With an incredibly fluid, and almost lazy motion, the violet blade swung up and blocked the attack, as the opposite hand then swung, the tree that had just been almost bisected cracked, spraying splinters across the small battlezone. Then the whole tree moved, almost 40 feet of fully limbed lumber then shifted rapidly, towards Ulsa with a speed that, while comparatively slow, a tree had absolutely no right to move. With that in motion, Revan then shoved an open palm towards Martius, a brutal force shove aiming to blow the man back to a more comfortable distance.

Not too far away, Khaza didn't need to worry about getting to the red saber, for it was coming to her. Now making a beeline towards the young woman, it made a number of oddly directed feints. With no body wielding it to gauge an attack off of, they were fully random, Until it got close enough, and it suddenly jutted for a thrust towards her abdomen.

---

If something wanted to stop her, they would have to catch her first. Who knew, this might even give some of her fellows a well needed advantage.

The sound of rapidly approaching droids echoed through the canopy layer. Snapping twigs and servos making it very clear that one of the patrols had locked on to Inera. An intuitive individual with a penchant for watching battle footage of the CIS machines could tell that something was wrong. The movements weren't a methodical marching, or an even pace from mindless droids. It seemed like they were moving on an independent scale, more like biological soldiers than droids.

Suddenly, blaster fire started whipping through the bushes, more like a wave of suppressive fire than directed blasts aimed to kill, or in this case, stun. Despite this, the sound of servos still advanced, hardly audible over the blaster fire, and they were heavy. B2's were closing on Inera, fast.

---

"We should get moving, lets talk while we move."

The only very recently reprogrammed turret suddenly swiveled to a random spot, tracking a target in the brush. For the next few seconds, it stuttered, seeing a potential target that it didn't have a proper shot of. It stopped, focusing on a single point yet it took no shot. Either not confirming the target as a potential enemy, or not getting a clear enough visual to confirm it as anything more than background motion in the shape of a living being.

In an instant, the device crumpled, sparks, shards of metal, and the gas from it';s ammunition flying every which way as it was brutally crushed by the force. For that exact instant, both the Bothan and the militant human could feel the presence of something nearby, before being swiftly muffled back under the blanket of the blanket of force that permeated the jungle.

Blaster fired echoed from elsewhere in the jungle, but that was less pressing than the servos, snapping twig and tinny call outs from B1s, closing on the position of the now mangled turret.

---

"We should work together on this. Together, I bet the two of us could deal with any single pursuer for sure."

The sixth sense that every living being had, the one that made hair raise in concern, the same that gave one feeling of being watched. As force sensitives, this sense worked a mite more accurately. Both Samira and Kaidin could feel the eyes of something upon them. Kaidin also came to the sudden haunting realization that the weight of his sword on his back was gone. The whistling of wind as the blade sailed through the air letting him know it was sailing away, before the sound of metal impacting woods and bushes directed him directly to where it went.

Then, nothing. No sound, no feeling of being watched. The only indication that the situation at hand had just occurred was the fact that the sword was still missing. It was an obvious trap... but how it would be sprung was a mystery.

---

Fortunately, the Force had other plans for him, even if he did not know it yet.

A droid patrol was close enough to hear their joints, the silence that Zam was in was enough to hear that. The darkness giving him the sight of the running lights on the B2s leading the patrol. In maybe 30 seconds they would be where he was now, and given that they were droids, they could definitely see better than him iun these conditions. However, they weren't firing and they weren't running towards him, meaning they had yet to see him. Zam had options, but little time to execute them, for the droids would be on him quite soon enough.

[Acerbez]

Khaza Halsi,
Yavin IV, Gauntlet Trials

Not too far away, Khaza didn't need to worry about getting to the red saber, for it was coming to her. Now making a beeline towards the young woman, it made a number of oddly directed feints. With no body wielding it to gauge an attack off of, they were fully random, Until it got close enough, and it suddenly jutted for a thrust towards her abdomen.

'She was already sprinting... The force coursing through her legs... She wouldn't be able to stop- she couldn't stop... Not without hurting herself... The way it altered its trajectory, how it moved, she couldn't get a read on it! If I try to slide or dive, surely it will lop off my head!'

Khaza' s thoughts were like flashes of lighting across a pitched black sky, ardent and sudden, fading before the second even passed. Having already planted her foot down hard with the intention to leap off from it, the option to curl down and tumble or continue her advance were the only choices she had while the red saber hopped and shifted chaotically back toward her. Khaza's left dominant hand held the saber down low readied to slash in the motion she had first imagined. It wasn't all too different than her low guard stance that she organically defended herself with normally. This was an all too familiar moment. Almost a deja vu. Not less than 10 hours ago a very similar situation had come to pass.

It was almost identical to the calm thrust that Inera had pulled against Khaza! The feigning movements instead were a guise just like Inera's ability to calm herself and hide her intent; the red whizzening saber had hid its intention and thrust toward her abdomen all the same as the Inera had done the afternoon before. Muscle memory and Khaza's technical experience intertwined with the demand of following through with her current course of action already dictated how she'd react. As her body sprung forward off of her left foot and she propelled forward in a slanted jump, the fast actions in her mind had felt slowly calculated.

All too similar to Inera's lunge, Khaza twisted her wrist downwards and moved to swat the incoming blade of plasma. Zhhhhrr... connected the silver streak to the red with only the whitest hued light in between the colors, the red saber slid forward while Khaza's blade glided across the majority of its length. Slightly altering its trajectory every millimeter. But this wasn't the same circumstance as the duel Khaza had with Inera. Inera brought sportsmanship to the duel and less hostility. You could say that Inera wasnt actually attempting to seriously harm Khaza and the amount of energy invested was much less than the here and now.

A sharp pain erupted and sent shock waves through Khaza's nervous system for a jarring moment just before the nerve endings were cut, seared, and left little more than a clean linear spread of blighted flesh at the edges of where it had come into contact. Burning away her sleeve and glazing the epidermis along the top ridge of her upper tricep, the combined effort of her parry and the velocity of the incoming thrust saved her from a direct stabbing through her abdomen. But her top shoulder bore the brunt. A laceration just over 3 centimetres deep chissled out and evaporated the bit of bone and flesh it came into contact with.

Shrieking in pain, the usually soft and slightly rasp voice of the Miraluka was ushered to a higher pitch and surged out loud enough to add into the symphony of the ongoing battle.

"Uahhh!" she screamed while descending from mid air.

If her peers even glanced momentarily, they would see the red blade sail off again to her left side as she deflected it. Given the current mood however, it would be clear to see her silhouette collide with the source of light and it clipping her shoulder. Upon her landing, she had twisted almost a full 180° and fell to a knee. Her right hand shooting over the wound and cusping it with slouched shoulders.

This was that pain she always imagined whenever she winced in her past duels. So hot that it was cold, Khaza could feel her body temperature rise as she was unable to control the panting. As if inhaling and exhaling would take away from the current sensation. It did nothing...

It hurt.

[Parcia]

Ziam Cyrus
The Gauntlet

The rhythmic thumping of approaching droids as they stomped through the brush, their joints clanking and branches breaking under their metallic feet. He had a problem: they were too close already to not catch Ziam as he would climb in to the trees, unaided by a set of claws like his new Bothen friend.

"Sith Spawn, too close already...I'll hit them from below, you hit them from high, prioritize any armored ones you see." Dropping to the ground among the ground clutter and low bush, clutching his saber in his off hand and his blaster in his dominant hand. Out through the brush, rather crashing then walking, the patrol of droids emerged through the trees and he silently cursed. He recognized the B-1s and B-2s, they were common enough among the thugs and gangs in Mos Eisly that he had some basic ideas on how to fight them. The B-1s were stupid, even more so with no unified Droid Control signal and these 4 were clutching their tell tale E-5 rifles in their three fingered hands. What worried him were the pair of B-2s, not that they could be smarter, they were technically even dumber, but their targeting system was military grade and their chassis armored to the point to almost render his DL-18 moot.

Staying low and staying still, he waited until they were almost on top of him. Springing up, he leveled his blaster on the two nearest B-1s and dispatched them both with a bolt to the cranial case, then felt his hairs stand up on his arms. Diving in to a roll he felt a bolt impact his shoulder pad and grunted as the old Clone armor, while shunting most of the bolt, gave way and he felt the energy pulse through his off arm and it go limp. Coming to a low crouch, he fired at the 3rd nearest B-1 and sunk 3 bolts in to it before it fell down in a haze of sparks and smoke. Aiming his blaster at the remaining three droids he fired off a flurry of bolts, missing most yet landing a few glancing hits on one of the B-2s as he scrambled for the cover of a near by tree.

As the B-2s began to suppress him with their repeating blaster he yelled out, "Feel free to join in at any time, Whiskers!"

[Dentali]

Ziam Cyrus
The Gauntlet

The rhythmic thumping of approaching droids as they stomped through the brush, their joints clanking and branches breaking under their metallic feet. He had a problem: they were too close already to not catch Ziam as he would climb in to the trees, unaided by a set of claws like his new Bothen friend.

"Sith Spawn, too close already...I'll hit them from below, you hit them from high, prioritize any armored ones you see." Dropping to the ground among the ground clutter and low bush, clutching his saber in his off hand and his blaster in his dominant hand. Out through the brush, rather crashing then walking, the patrol of droids emerged through the trees and he silently cursed. He recognized the B-1s and B-2s, they were common enough among the thugs and gangs in Mos Eisly that he had some basic ideas on how to fight them. The B-1s were stupid, even more so with no unified Droid Control signal and these 4 were clutching their tell tale E-5 rifles in their three fingered hands. What worried him were the pair of B-2s, not that they could be smarter, they were technically even dumber, but their targeting system was military grade and their chassis armored to the point to almost render his DL-18 moot.

Staying low and staying still, he waited until they were almost on top of him. Springing up, he leveled his blaster on the two nearest B-1s and dispatched them both with a bolt to the cranial case, then felt his hairs stand up on his arms. Diving in to a roll he felt a bolt impact his shoulder pad and grunted as the old Clone armor, while shunting most of the bolt, gave way and he felt the energy pulse through his off arm and it go limp. Coming to a low crouch, he fired at the 3rd nearest B-1 and sunk 3 bolts in to it before it fell down in a haze of sparks and smoke. Aiming his blaster at the remaining three droids he fired off a flurry of bolts, missing most yet landing a few glancing hits on one of the B-2s as he scrambled for the cover of a near by tree.

As the B-2s began to suppress him with their repeating blaster he yelled out, "Feel free to join in at any time, Whiskers!"

Bren had already moved through the trees hopping between the branches aided by his force speed and the fire coming from his newfound ally. Coming within a few meters Bren launched himself at one B2 Super Battle Droids, enhancing his strike with gravity and the force and slamming into the B1. The modified training saber didn't cut like a real lightsaber would but still functioned as a devastating weapon with enough force behind it. It smashed and disabled the B2 Super Battle Droid caving in its armored form as Bren dove from above.

He then turned and dove into a roll as the remaining B1 turned to shoot at him. As the B1 tracked and fired continuously at Bren he maneuvered the surviving B2 between then causing the B1 to hit the B2 in the back with several blaster bolts, which while not taking it out caused the B2 damage and to spin in confusion. With the B1 now forced to hold its fire it bought Bren a few more precious seconds which he used to aggressively charge the B1, targeting its head with a wide horizontal strike. Causing the head to pop off from the force of the strike.

Bren finished this maneuver by diving behind a large tree, providing him a bit of cover as the B2's blaster began to unload on him taking chunks out of the tree and sending burning splinters flying.

[Empire of Donner land]

Yavin IV

---

19 ABY

---

Apprentice Ulsa Anve

---

The battle unfolded quickly, Martius made a heavy top strike against them only to be lazily blocked with little effort. Their sabers clashed, locked together loudly, creating a cascade of light and sparks that lit their entire vicinity as Martius struggled against this being's immense strength. To Ulsa's left, the discarded red saber flew back towards them, flying randomly at Khaza until sharply turning to a jab with the intent to impale. Khaza made an effort to jump over it while deflecting it somewhere else but it had still cut her judging by her scream and the sound of Lightsaber on skin, an ear grating combination of gasses screaming and the sound of sharp metal grinding.

As the man blocked Martius' attack, his other hand was doing something else, it swung the other away and wooden splinters sprayed everywhere, Ulsa brought up her arm to protect her eyes as the small chunks of wood and embers fell with thumps. As her arm lowered she could see the tree was coming her way, floating and spinning towards Ulsa about to crush her and send her flying out of the fight and out of commission. In her own perception, things were moving at a much slower rate. Ulsa's lightsaber turned off, the green light folding back into the hilt with a ripping sound. She pushed herself forward into a roll and tumbled this time towards their assaulter.

As she rolled she could see the trunk of the tree sailing past above her and into a group of other trees behind her, creating a crescendoing loud noise of breaking trunks and branches as it along with the other trees shattered into each other with a force that made the ground shake. Embers floated down from the path the tree flew, and as she stood up from the successful dodge, all that was left was a crushed and burning stump. But then saw the man draped in black shove a palm towards Martius, breaking the lightsaber lock and sending Martius flying backward. Ulsa ignited her lightsaber in a high guard stance while running at their assailant and telegraphed at wide right slash only to shift her elbow and shoulder inwards and change it to a feint. Turning the assault into a quick stab at the "Man's" neck as she yelled, taking the place of Martius to keep their attacker constantly busy.

[Urran]

Thrace
Attack of the Droids

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The sound was growing louder, closer. It was obvious that this was one of the droid patrols that had been mentioned in the briefing. They sounded big, menacing even, and they were advancing on Thrace's position. This was not good. From what he had read, the droid army had been a technological terror, something to be feared. He was not being shot at yet, meaning that they had not spotted him. Luckily, the root he had taken refuge under was large enough to hide behind, had they not been approaching him from the front and not the back.

His heart was in his throat. He looked around for something that he could use as a distraction. Under the root and to his left was a sizeable rock. Droids were not as bright as an actual soldier, he hoped. The fist sized stone was still somewhat buried and he worked quickly, clawing at it and getting dirt trapped under his fingernails, uncomfortable, but something he barely noticed. His pain tolerance was pretty astronomical.

Finally loosing the stone, he took aim and let it fly, hurling it forward and too the left of his position as far as he could throw it. It made a loud crash through the leaves and branches and rolled down some unseen embankment. Perfect, it almost sounded like someone running away. Hopefully the patrol would take the bait. He figured he had about a minute or two before they figured it out and began moving back towards the trail.

He pulled himself up and over the root and took shelter for a moment behind it before he scuttled back towards the trail. low as he could go, sometimes pressing a hand to the ground where the earth seemed soft, making sure he was not trapped in a pit. Perhaps his best chance of survival would be to catch up to another group and trail them, but not join them. His fear of being made to do the course to completion alone if he was caught had won out over his fear of getting caught. He had heard no screams of death, he supposed this was what they had been told, training and nothing more. Still, he decided he should attempt to work up the courage to explain his situation.

Inside, there was a spark, a teeny tiny point of light in a void of darkness, almost entirely undetectable, but it was there just the same. The future was....uncertain.

[The GAmeTopians]

"We should work together on this. Together, I bet the two of us could deal with any single pursuer for sure."

The sixth sense that every living being had, the one that made hair raise in concern, the same that gave one feeling of being watched. As force sensitives, this sense worked a mite more accurately. Both Samira and Kaidin could feel the eyes of something upon them. Kaidin also came to the sudden haunting realization that the weight of his sword on his back was gone. The whistling of wind as the blade sailed through the air letting him know it was sailing away, before the sound of metal impacting woods and bushes directed him directly to where it went.

Then, nothing. No sound, no feeling of being watched. The only indication that the situation at hand had just occurred was the fact that the sword was still missing. It was an obvious trap... but how it would be sprung was a mystery.

Samira whirled around when Kaidin spoke, pistol drawn. She rolled her eyes, not lowering the pistol, but not firing either.
"Fine, I suppose. I prefer to work alone, but your sword could be useful."
Speaking of, in the moment that she mentioned it, Kaidin's sword flew away from him. She glanced off in the direction that it had gone, blaster raised warily.
Samira looked back at Kaidin, eyebrow raised.
"Umm... either I did that, or we have company. Get your blade back. I'll cover you."

[The Olog-Hai]

The sixth sense that every living being had, the one that made hair raise in concern, the same that gave one feeling of being watched. As force sensitives, this sense worked a mite more accurately. Both Samira and Kaidin could feel the eyes of something upon them. Kaidin also came to the sudden haunting realization that the weight of his sword on his back was gone. The whistling of wind as the blade sailed through the air letting him know it was sailing away, before the sound of metal impacting woods and bushes directed him directly to where it went.

Then, nothing. No sound, no feeling of being watched. The only indication that the situation at hand had just occurred was the fact that the sword was still missing. It was an obvious trap... but how it would be sprung was a mystery.

Samira whirled around when Kaidin spoke, pistol drawn. She rolled her eyes, not lowering the pistol, but not firing either.
"Fine, I suppose. I prefer to work alone, but your sword could be useful."
Speaking of, in the moment that she mentioned it, Kaidin's sword flew away from him. She glanced off in the direction that it had gone, blaster raised warily.
Samira looked back at Kaidin, eyebrow raised.
"Umm... either I did that, or we have company. Get your blade back. I'll cover you."

"I'm going to assume you didn't do that, and that blade's what I'm used to. The saber just isn't the same," Kaidin replied. Nevertheless, he drew his saber and activated it, the blue blade humming to life. Kaidin warily approached the area the sword likely landed, hopefully ready for whatever could be thrown at him.
I swear, if someone or something messed with my sword, they'll regret it.

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Inera

Slicing through another thick rubbery plant with her saber, Inera continued to push through the jungle towards the temple. Feeling her feet splash through mud puddle after mud puddle, the blood flowed through her body as adrenaline started to kick in. The hunt was over, the chase had begun. Inera was well experienced with being on both ends of this event. It had only been a few weeks ago when she had been chased off Dantooine. This was just colder and with far lesser consequences if she was caught. Not that she intended to be caught. It was like her mother always said, if you never intend to fail, you won't need a backup plan. Inera continued to push through the brush when suddenly that oh so familiar friendly feeling on the back of her neck went crazy.

Suddenly dropping onto her side to slide in the mud, she felt one of the blaster bolts graze her shoulder. Yep. They would still hurt like crazy if she got hit. Finishing out her slide behind a midsized rock for cover, she felt the edges of it begin to get blasted off. Returning fire with whatever was in the bushes a few times, she heard her blaster contact metal once or twice, but judging by the fact that the fire rate didn't slow down, it wasn't very successful. Just then she saw some brush get broken down a short distance off. Through it stepped the lumbering form of a B2. That was a cue that this wasn't worth it to try and continue to fight. Inera quickly put down her blaster and felt around her belt for anything that could be of use.

Her fingers wrapped around a chord of strong durasteel wire. Inera smiled, a plan coming together in her head. Loading the spool into an attachment on the side of her blaster, she peaked her head over the side of the rock, keeping an eye of the B2 she could see. Keeping track of it's movement speed, she turned off her saber and returned it to her belt, grabbing a handful of smaller objects. Using the small amount of time she had left, she fiddeled with the stun grenades, setting as many as she could to discharge as much energy as possible. When she felt the time was right, she aimed her blaster, and fired the grappel line at a far off tree. Feeling the rappel device catch and begin to pull her, Inera turned as tossed the stun grenades in as wide of a range as she could, hoping to mostly catch the B2s with them, though she did not expect a fantastic result with them. She then rocketed forward a few dozen yards before she relased the grapple and felt herself tossed across the jungle floor. Curling up to lessen the impact, she hit the ground and bounced and rolled through the mud for a bit further.

Shaking off the feeling of impact, Inera reached out for her blaster... and felt tremendous scorching pain in her left arm as she did so. Yelling out "KARABLAST!" Grabbing the weapon, Inera dove for cover and saw a nearby turret firing at her. Luckily enough the grapple trick managed to get her most of the way through the turrets range, as the blast had come from the side, but the damn thing had still disabled her arm. In a split second call, she holstered the blaster, figuring having the ability to remove brush would be far more valuable in the long term. Igniting the emeral blade once more, Inera pushed herself off the ground, steeled against the pain in her arm, and took off towards the arena once more, adrenaline coursing through her bloods. She let her determination feed her energy forward. She would not fail today. Using the lightsaber to slice through another bush in front of her, she pushed onto the final stretch of the run.

[Brusia]

Martius Shan
Yavin IV

Martius' attack was quickly blocked by the foe, who simultaneously forced the Zabrak to disengage by bringing the nearby damaged tree down on top of her. Martius too was soon forced to disengage, as the opponent broke their saber-lock with a powerful Force push. Unable to counter it in time, Martius was sent flying back several yards as his lightsaber automatically deactivated. Fortunately however, he'd been knocked on his backside while sparring with his old Master enough times that he remembered well how to recover from such an attack, and he quickly rolled himself back enough to complete a backflip and land on his feet in a crouched position with his left hand grasping onto the ground to slow him down as his momentum continued to slide him back along the soft grass, and his right hand extended out to his side quickly reigniting his blade to move to reengage the foe and assist the Zabrak as she did the same.

Before he could move to press the attack on the figure dressed like his ancestor however, he heard a scream coming from the Miraluka and looked to see that she appeared injured. He drew his blaster from its holster, still set to stun for training purposes, and fired three shots at the opponent to keep his full attention away from the Zabrak, while dashing towards the Miraluka to assist her. He struck the red lightsaber hard at a full sprint to knock it far enough away that he'd have time to evaluate the Miraluka's wound. Using the blue light from his blade, he quickly looked the Miraluka over and saw no wounds other than the one she was clutching on her arm. With a sigh of relief he informed her: "You'll be alright; looks like it's just a flesh wound."

Still, the severity of the wound was such that he was worried whoever they were fighting might be playing for keeps rather than training purposes, and were that the case he was determined to do all he could to keep his new comrades from serious harm. He spun around and fired another two shots at the foe, and seeing the Zabrak begin to attack with a high guard stance, suggested to the Miraluka: "You go for his midriff, I'll go low! If things start looking bad, grab the Zabrak and run; I'll buy you as much time as I can." With that he used all the Force Speed he could muster to sprint towards the foe; sliding along the grass as he grew close with a slash aimed at the opponents legs while the Zabrak went for his throat...

[Newrey]

Caio Esau
Yavin 4
First Trials

Even after years of being woken up at the dead of night to get on the move when imperials or bounty hunters got uncomfortably close to where Caio and his mother hid, being woken up by the sound of a loud gong was low on the list of preferred ways to wake up. Caio groggily slid himself off of his bottom bunk, disappointment in the back of his mind from what he viewed as a disastrous first day, having failed to start any meaningful friendship or even a conversation with anyone. He hoped this wasn't indicative of his life here at the temple for the next few years, but, as the saying went, the force works in mysterious ways. When ordered to bring whatever tools or weapons they thought necessary, Caio hesitantly grabbed his lightsaber, violence not being his personal strong suit, but he assumed being prepared for any event, especially during the trials, was a necessity.

His confusion at being woken up so early was only heightened further when he saw the only people present in the room were his fellow Padawans, Kyle, Bo, as well as Xin and Ben. Despite it being obvious, Caio sensed an uneasiness hanging over a few of the people present, especially in the recently bruised Ben. Though he wasn't too sure how he managed to get himself injured, he had not doubt that he would shortly figure it out. Word tends to travel fast in these tight groupings. As the Zabrak Jedi, Bo, began to talk, he felt his heart beat slightly faster in anticipation, increasing in speed when it was revealed that this was to be the first trial that he would face. The fact he couldn't fail it either was just an added bonus. He shielded his eyes as the flares lit up the dark sky, his eyes still trying to shake off the last remnants of sleep. The illuminated jungle and marsh, as well as the golden towers, were slightly blurry, but he could roughly see their outline. Enough to get the gist of the area, at least.

"Watch those wrist rockets" Master Katarn said before they set off across the clearing to the jungle. What an odd piece of advice, Caio thought to himself. Shortly after breaking through into the thicket, he slowed down, unsure on what route to take. Regardless of what way he went, he was sure he would into some sort of danger or trouble. With his mind a mess of confusion and different plans, he took a slow breath out. He had heard that the Jedi used to meditate when faced with options like these, and though he wasn't too sure on how they did it, he didn't really have a better idea other than charge recklessly into the foray. He knelt down and...still felt unsure. Should he think happy thoughts? Start counting banthas? He felt his frustration start to grow, which even he knew was the opposite of what meditating was supposed to do. Just as he was about to give up, he felt a cool, calming sensation rush over him. He was suddenly filled with a sense of direction and purpose. Maybe the Jedi of old were onto something with this meditating thing.

He set off again, jumping over small puddles and the overgrown roots of trees that broke through the ground that threatened to trip him up. Soon enough, the unmistakable sound of blasters began to echo throughout the jungle, using it as a homing beacon of sorts. After all, wherever there were blasters firing, there were people. He came to a sudden halt behind a tree just on the edge of where a confrontation was going down. He watched as a Bothan whose name he hadn't yet learned came decapitated the B1 droid before diving to safety.

"Impressive" he muttered to himself. He thought quickly as the B2 began to fire at the tree where the Bothan had hidden. Reaching out with the force, he found a rather sizeable rock that would serve his purpose. Using both hands, he brought the ball-sized rock up and, with some thought into where it would land, launched it towards the battle droid. It impacted sharply, but not enough to destroy it, but that hadn't been his plan, only to redirect its attention towards him to allow others to attack from behind. He activated his lightsaber, the floor slightly illuminated by its sharp green light, and stood out of the safety of his tree, waving the saber around to ensure he'd gotten its attention, before quickly returning to behind the tree once it opened fire. Though Caio had expected himself to be able to deflect the bolts that came flying at him, he quickly came to the realisation that it would take far more training to achieve that skill with the blade.

[Anowa]

Khaza Halsi

Ulsa Anve

Martius Shan

The figure of Revan hardly moved, the mask turned as it got a view of it's approaching adversaries. With no indication of it's next move beyond simply standing there. Watching the attackers approach.

Ulsa reached him first, their blades locked for an instant, as a slight shift of footing and a twist of the arm lead to a change in stance and movement, a twirl later and Ulsa's lightsaber was now flying through the air, impacting the ground with a dull thud. The woman had been disarmed.

The figure however wasted no time, no later had the saber left Ulsa's hand that he switched his attention to Martius. Once again blades locked, and the figure spun as he launched himself, his blade tracing a mark into the ground, as he lifted off, the back of his right foot impacting Martius' jaw with a resounding crack as teeth mashed together.

Revan would land a ways away, simply looking at the duo, and casting a glance at the wounded woman. He jutted his arm out, and his missing saber returned to it. Both sabers turned off, as he took a relaxed stance, leaving the only light coming from the distant lightsaber of Khaza's, and Martius' own.

He turned away and started walking into the darkness, "I expected better of someone of my lineage." walking into a notably dark section of the jungle, there was no further conflict. If there was ever a chance to move on their objective, it was now.

---

Ziam Cyrus

Bren

Caio Esau

As many clones would attest, getting in close with a B2 was a monumentally terrible idea. The now irreperably damaged B2, while heavily damaged with a cracked duranium casing, it was capable of surviving equally damaging blows for much longer. A paramount to the engineering mastery that Master Ganthor had, the usually turtle like B2 got back up. Both B2 made an advance towards the location of the Bothan, the undamaged of the two, rounding at nearly 6 meters from the tree itself, lining up a shot on the Bothan and firing. The Other B2 was about to do the same, when it was smashed back to the ground by a sizable rock.

The remaining B1 also switched from targeting the Mandalorian, to that of the Bothan, suppressing the haired sentient on the side opposite of the flanking B2.

The reason why it switched targets was answered, as a hail of blaster rounds came out of the jungle, spattering the cover Ziam was behind, but on the side he was sitting on. He had been fully flanked, and the muzzle report was that of an E-11. Given how droids weren't really designed to use E-11s, it meant a Hunter had caught up to them.

The newly arrived apprentice suddenly felt a haunting presence behind him. The sucking, gasping sound of some kind of breathing mask echoing across the landscape as a red lightsaber ignited. A bassy, somewhat mechanical voice reaching his ears, "Impressive. Most impressive."

---

Kaidin

Samira

Following the blade wasn't difficult, it was always just exiting Kaidin's line of sight whenever they walked past a tree or through a thicket. Until eventually, they found a clearing. At the center, was Ben, sitting with crossed legs, examining the sword. A simple retrieval was complicated by the fact that the entire floor of the clearing was covered in twigs, leaves and what looked to be trip wires.

It was nearly 40 meters of distance between the edge of the clearing the duo were standing it, and Ben. In an odd state of oxymoron, no traps seemed obvious, despite the incredibly blatant level of suggestion that there were traps present.

Ben spoke, "This is a nice sword. You're lucky I found you instead of Xin or Magnus. They have a habit of breaking swords."

---

Inera

The cacophony of detonations echoed through the jungle, followed by the confused screaming of B1 and B2s, the blaster fire all but stopped. For Inera, her display had gotten the battle droids of her tail, being ingenious enough that the droids couldn't keep up or prepare for it. Inera was free to keep running, forging her path ahead. Somehow her lone wolf style had yet to be her downfall in this exercise.

---

Thrace

The patrol bought the bait, suddenly changing direction with the chirping of B1s and B2s alike moved them on a path exact opposite of the experiment child. For a moment, the boy would feel, uplifted, out of the corner of his eye, he might see a small creature with an ethereal blue glow, but actually looking to where he saw it would lead to nothing. Nothing but a mirthful, somewhat mischievous laugh.

[The Olog-Hai]

Kaidin

Samira

Ben

"You should be lucky you didn't break the sword, and they should be lucky they didn't find me. You'd be dead if you broke that sword," growled Kaidin. "It's older than most things you've ever seen. I'd tell you to give it back or else, but right now I'm preferring the else anyways."

Kaidin almost began to approach, but then looked at the clearing a little more carefully. "Obviously this is some kind of trick." Kaidin turned to Samira. "Since you've got the range, I say we deal with a pursuer while we have the chance. Besides, he can't do that, not with my blade. Shoot him or something."

While keeping an eye on Ben, Kaidin attempted to use brute force and the training saber to wrest free a heavy branch from a tree nearby.

[Newrey]

Caio Esau

The newly arrived apprentice suddenly felt a haunting presence behind him. The sucking, gasping sound of some kind of breathing mask echoing across the landscape as a red lightsaber ignited. A bassy, somewhat mechanical voice reaching his ears, "Impressive. Most impressive."

---

Risking a glance from behind the cover of the tree, he couldn't help but let a small smile when he saw he'd managed to knocked one of the B2's out of the fight, even temporarily, he knew it would buy the Bothan and anyone else involved some breathing room in the fight. He went to move closer to the Bothan, to better communicate a plan of attack when he stopped dead in his tracks, a feeling crept over him. He could tell what was behind him without so much as a doubt in mind, the famous breathing noise strengthening it. As he turned round quickly, he felt his spirit abandon him and instead be replaced with dread and terror. Lord Vader, one of the most evil men to ever live, who had committed atrocities in uncountable systems, stood there. Caio's mind went into overdrive. There was no way such an evil being could be there, he had been killed during the Battle of Endor, over a decade ago, yet here he was. As the Darth ignited his saber, the infamous red of the Sith menacingly lit up the area, Caio barely stammered out an incomprehensible noise, terror seizing his body.

"Impressive. Most Impressive" Vader spoke, his tone somewhat mechanical. Mechanical... Mechanical? Caio thought to himself. He had never heard the dreaded Sith in speak in person before, yet this voice didn't seem to belong to such a feared villain. Fighting his own terror, Caio ignited his own saber, the green light doing its part to combat the dominating shade of red, yet he could not bring himself into a stance. He'd had no training in fighting with sabers or blades, and when faced against such a skilled warrior as Darth Vader, he knew he didn't stand a chance. Instead, he did what he viewed as he only option. He began slowly backing up, his limbs seemingly trying to fight his every movement.

[Acerbez]

Khaza Halsi,
Yavin IV, Gauntlet Trials

A feeling of wretched uselessness fell over the Miraluka. Martius' suggested course of action may have worked had she followed through, but damn it everything had happened so fast! The burning sensation refused to take its leave. She let her own fear of feeling pain along with her self doubt inhibit her participation... Inadequate... The concept lingering behind every thought she mustered. Martius had flown to strike the Dark jedi following Ulsa's initiative while Khaza merely watched. She made no impact it felt like... The dark jedi swiftly disarming Ulsa and fluidly twisting into a painful kick that halted the veteran warrior Martius, the "commander". Khaza felt herself looking up to both of these individuals in a sense for leadership. Their headstrong commitment and outward lack of fear armouring their actions... And then herself... Inadequate, fearful, hurt... Her presence pointless and lacking contribution.

After Martius was struck, the dark jedi turned away after deactivating his own sabers. Removing his attention from Ulsa and Martius only ending his glance on Khaza just a moment before he started walking into the darkness, "I expected better of someone of my lineage." he stated before disappearing into a notably dark section of the jungle. Khaza felt outside of her self, looking at her own person's. She knew the comment was for Martius and despite not understanding the context, the fact remained that he was, his efforts, were deemed disappointing... But what about her own?

She was sorted out and chosen on Alpheridies for quote on quote, "exceptional and promising ability". She was tought by an exceptional teacher and educated on fighting, dueling, close quarter combat and yet in this all too real situation she felt like a failure. Dropping her head and refusing to remove her right hand from her wound, the Miraluka deactivated her saber and dropped her shoulders. Without a word, without care or caution, she began to skulk off in semi fast stride toward the padawan's objective. Gritting her teeth and clenching her jaw muscles, Khaza did her best to flow her force energy to her wound. If not to heal it, at the very least to numb it out. Contrary to her desire, she focused on the searing pain and it became the only thing on her mind. Slowly dulling it out...

She didn't have the heart to look at Ulsa or Martius. No doubt they too were stuck on the fact that she had barely helped them- atleast that's what she concluded. Ulsa already had scolded her for breaking her meditation, who knew what she'd say now. Khaza berated herself in her conscious thoughts, hardly a credit to the Miraluka race nor worthy of her tutor Delvaro or her training. If the other 2 padawan could feel Khaza at all through the force the way she felt them, they'd feel her presence sink within itself like quicksand. Awkward and silent... Just like their defeat lingering with the word "disappointment."

Trailing off ahead, Khaza lead the way in the same direction Ulsa had mentioned earlier. If she had eye's maybe she'd have shed a few tears.

[The GAmeTopians]

Ben

"You should be lucky you didn't break the sword, and they should be lucky they didn't find me. You'd be dead if you broke that sword," growled Kaidin. "It's older than most things you've ever seen. I'd tell you to give it back or else, but right now I'm preferring the else anyways."

Kaidin almost began to approach, but then looked at the clearing a little more carefully. "Obviously this is some kind of trick." Kaidin turned to Samira. "Since you've got the range, I say we deal with a pursuer while we have the chance. Besides, he can't do that, not with my blade. Shoot him or something."

While keeping an eye on Ben, Kaidin attempted to use brute force and the training saber to wrest free a heavy branch from a tree nearby.

Samira followed Kaidin through the jungle, pistol raised to fire past him if necessary.
When they reached the clearing, her eyebrows raised. She listened to the terse exchange between the two men, and glanced at Kaidin with a smirk.
"You want me to fire on a Jedi? Even in the depths of Coruscant we heard the tales of Jedi deflecting blaster bolts with lightsabers. Even for a padawan I'd imagine he wouldn't have much trouble. This baby's for droids."
That being said, the pistol was trained on Ben, as she covertly swapped the setting to "stun".
We don't need any accidents out here. I'm fine with busting a droid, but not Luke Skywalker's personal prodigy.

[The Olog-Hai]

"You should be lucky you didn't break the sword, and they should be lucky they didn't find me. You'd be dead if you broke that sword," growled Kaidin. "It's older than most things you've ever seen. I'd tell you to give it back or else, but right now I'm preferring the else anyways."

Kaidin almost began to approach, but then looked at the clearing a little more carefully. "Obviously this is some kind of trick." Kaidin turned to Samira. "Since you've got the range, I say we deal with a pursuer while we have the chance. Besides, he can't do that, not with my blade. Shoot him or something."

While keeping an eye on Ben, Kaidin attempted to use brute force and the training saber to wrest free a heavy branch from a tree nearby.

Samira followed Kaidin through the jungle, pistol raised to fire past him if necessary.
When they reached the clearing, her eyebrows raised. She listened to the terse exchange between the two men, and glanced at Kaidin with a smirk.
"You want me to fire on a Jedi? Even in the depths of Coruscant we heard the tales of Jedi deflecting blaster bolts with lightsabers. Even for a padawan I'd imagine he wouldn't have much trouble. This baby's for droids."
That being said, the pistol was trained on Ben, as she covertly swapped the setting to "stun".
We don't need any accidents out here. I'm fine with busting a droid, but not Luke Skywalker's personal prodigy.

Kaidin finished heaving the branch free from the tree with a loud crack of breaking wood. Carrying the branch in one hand, and the training saber in the other, he leaned close to Samira and whispered. "I'm about to do what's probably a mistake. I'm going to move around and come at him from the other side, try to use the branch to spring whatever trap there might be, and charge him. While he's distracted, you shoot him. He might be a Jedi, but he's still in training; he probably can't focus on both of us at once. If we can deal with him, we're hopefully fine for the rest of the trial."

Kaidin did just that, moving partially around the clearly before reaching out with the branch and sweeping the ground before him, preparing for a charge at Ben.

[Urran]

Thrace,
Bunch o' Clankers

Thrace paused and listened, trying to sort out the news of the surrounding jungle from the sounds made by the droids. It sounded like the bought the bait, and just in time too. He took the time to hurriedly gather a few more small stones. If they had functioning logic centers, they likely would not buy the same trick twice, but surely there was more than one patrol. Hopefully they were not synced up. That could prove a problem.

Out of the corner of his eye....was that a ghost? No. Just his shattered mind playing tricks on him again. Surely that was not a real laugh....but why was it so familiar?

He made his way back to the trail and followed the sounds of....battle? That did not bode well. He slinked up into a clump of large ferns and hid just long enough to see a cloaked figure sink back into the darkness that shrouded the opposite side of the trail. Another group of students were there, and they began to move on. He raised a large umbrella like leaf to get a better view. as they rounded the bend he crept forward, but kept an eye out for that....whatever it was in the shadows, doing his best to melt his Force signature into the surrounding environment.

There was a small hint of guilt, leaving the others to do the heavy lifting, but he could not conquer his fear and force himself out into their sight. Shouldn't he warn them about the patrol? Had he known he was tempting darker forces, he may have said something, but he did not, and continued to move like an animal in the shadows.

[Anowa]

Samira and Kaidin

As the branch effortlessly moved aside leaves and sticks, revealing nothing beneath them, Ben spoke. "I've read about you Echani. You take a concerning amount of pride in your ability to fight. Being able to read people as they fight." a pause, "Judging from what you've said about my senior, you seem to believe that you're the end all be all of those who have yet to attain the rank of Knight."

The boy stabbed the sword into the ground as he stood, pulling his own saber out, standing a bit taller than he should. Internally, he was thinking about the duo in this clearing had already failed spectacularly. The girl less so, but Kaidin was blatantly violating the Jedi code in several ways. Arrogance and Stubborness mostly, believing he could best both of the senior apprentices in the Praxeum. Followed by Recklessness, using a branch to clear possible traps, including what could've been mines. Aggression and Materialism, threatening to kill for something as simple as a sword. The pale man had no self discipline, he thought he was the best, but he would be the last through the trials at this rate.

"You realize the sword means nothing, right? It's a sword. Nothing more, nothing less."

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

Inera

Cracking through another bush, Inera pushed foraward even more. After the droids had stopped pursuing her, she had found herself in a suspiciously quiet stretch on jungle. She didn't let her guard drop however, knowing that this was when she was most vunerable. With another burst of energy she cleared over the next bush... to find herself in the middle of a large clearing, with a large stone structure in front of her. Dawn's first rays began to poke between the towers of the arena, setting it's golden exterior ablaze.

Placing her goggles back on her face, Inera pressed onward, into the arena. Finding herself in the middle of it, she called out from the sand "Anyone here? I think I made it through the trial, but if I have to fight something else I'm ready for it. Just really tired and confused at this point!"

[The Olog-Hai]

Ben

"You clearly don't understand me at all, then, according to what you've said. Although fighting is a matter of pride, it's also how I've met my best friends, how the entirety of my people work. And it's not a fight that makes it so, it's the duel. But, as a human, you wouldn't understand." Kaidin sighed, and drew himself away from the clearing a little. "What you also clearly don't understand is that it's not just a sword. It's older than you, older than your family name, older than any Jedi at the Praexum. I don't even have any idea of how old it is, since it's been passed down my family for generations. I thought you, as a high-and-mighty Jedi, would understand history, though I guess not familial identity, since you've got none. Enough talking. I'll give you three options, with a fourth if you refuse them all. First, you give me back my sword and all is forgiven. Second, I'll trade you this saber for my sword. Third, you promise, on your honor and life, that you'll give it back after the trial. And if you refuse all of those, well, I'm coming for you."

Kaidin turned off his saber and flipped it in his hand, so the hilt was facing Ben. Honestly, he was itching for Ben to refuse, but he also didn't want to risk the vibrosword.

[The GAmeTopians]

Ben

"You clearly don't understand me at all, then, according to what you've said. Although fighting is a matter of pride, it's also how I've met my best friends, how the entirety of my people work. And it's not a fight that makes it so, it's the duel. But, as a human, you wouldn't understand." Kaidin sighed, and drew himself away from the clearing a little. "What you also clearly don't understand is that it's not just a sword. It's older than you, older than your family name, older than any Jedi at the Praexum. I don't even have any idea of how old it is, since it's been passed down my family for generations. I thought you, as a high-and-mighty Jedi, would understand history, though I guess not familial identity, since you've got none. Enough talking. I'll give you three options, with a fourth if you refuse them all. First, you give me back my sword and all is forgiven. Second, I'll trade you this saber for my sword. Third, you promise, on your honor and life, that you'll give it back after the trial. And if you refuse all of those, well, I'm coming for you."

Kaidin turned off his saber and flipped it in his hand, so the hilt was facing Ben. Honestly, he was itching for Ben to refuse, but he also didn't want to risk the vibrosword.

Samira rolled her eyes, deftly spinning the blaster pistol and lowering it to her side in one fluid motion.
"The point is that, at the end of the day, it's not important to our task. The Order knows that that sword is important to you. No doubt he was instructed to take it to show you that it is a weakness - something that can disrupt your mental state, or throw you off balance. I would presume that their goal is not to destroy it - only to make you aware of such a possibility, so that it may be addressed in your training."
She cooly glanced at Ben, a cold glint in her eyes.
"I do not approve of their methods, but I respect their necessity. My own weapon is a similar weakness. But, if this is all there is to this test, I shall be going. This is a needless delay on my end."
Turning on her heel, Samira gave one glance back toward the pair. She hoped that Kaidin would realize Ben had a choice here - either defend the sword, or go after her. Suspecting he would choose the former out of pride, it didn't matter too much what Kaidin worked out, but there was always the possibility of the latter.

[Beiarusia]

Llewellyn
The Forest, Yavin 4 :: 19 ABY

It was early, not yet sunrise, and they all had been summoned by the two Jedi Knights Bo Ganthor and Kyle Katarn for the first of their trials. Llewellyn stood at the rear of the gathering as per usual, yawning as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Their morning alarm had been entirely unpleasant and far too soon so already she was in a sour mood. And she was cold, her attire ill-suited for the nighttime temperatures of Yavin 4. (She wore a vest that left her arms and midriff exposed, black denim-like shorts, simple shoes, and thin leggings that did little to provide warmth.) Exuding an aura of irritability she was mercifully left alone as the Jedi introduced them to the task at hand.

The trial was simple enough. Get to the arena while avoiding traps, droid patrols, and the two Padawans.

So it began, and immediately a handful of students rushed ahead and into the darkness, the white-haired human(?) being first amongst them. Llewellyn, however, took her time, stretching a bit as she allowed the others to clear out before calmly strolling into the forest as if partaking in a leisurely hike. Neither Bo nor Kyle had mentioned it being a race so the girl saw no reason to run recklessly to the point of exhaustion. Plus she knew the best way to navigate a forest was by taking one's time. Llewellyn had lived her entire life in the jungles of Vestar, so understood how to traverse the underbrush and how best to avoid the nasty critters that lurked in the shadows, and although not quite the same the forests of Yavin weren't much different in this current regard. Maybe she was overconfident, but the reality was that she had years of experience in surviving in such environments. Traps were simple to avoid (numerous Imperial landmines could be found throughout the jungles of Vestar from the conflict) and evading predators was no difficult task. Droids may even be easier to avoid considering that many creatures on Vestar were arboreal. As for the two Padawans, given the noise in the distance they may well be distracted elsewhere.

As far as Llwellyn was concerned there was no immediate danger, and so long as she remained attentive she'd arrive at her destination unmolested. Thus her walk remained uneventful save for discovering a trap (which she avoided entirely) and her choosing a different path upon hearing what she assumed to be the plodding footsteps of a droid patrol (not that she confirmed so it may well have been another student or Padawan). Finding a natural pathway she followed it for a time, sticking to the undergrowth to avoid unwanted detection, before deviating to follow a small brook towards the general vicinity of the old arena.

She believed she was almost there. Hopefully she'd have no need to use the lightsaber clipped to her belt.

[Dentali]

As many clones would attest, getting in close with a B2 was a monumentally terrible idea. The now irreperably damaged B2, while heavily damaged with a cracked duranium casing, it was capable of surviving equally damaging blows for much longer. A paramount to the engineering mastery that Master Ganthor had, the usually turtle like B2 got back up. Both B2 made an advance towards the location of the Bothan, the undamaged of the two, rounding at nearly 6 meters from the tree itself, lining up a shot on the Bothan and firing. The Other B2 was about to do the same, when it was smashed back to the ground by a sizable rock.

The remaining B1 also switched from targeting the Mandalorian, to that of the Bothan, suppressing the haired sentient on the side opposite of the flanking B2.

The reason why it switched targets was answered, as a hail of blaster rounds came out of the jungle, spattering the cover Ziam was behind, but on the side he was sitting on. He had been fully flanked, and the muzzle report was that of an E-11. Given how droids weren't really designed to use E-11s, it meant a Hunter had caught up to them.

The newly arrived apprentice suddenly felt a haunting presence behind him. The sucking, gasping sound of some kind of breathing mask echoing across the landscape as a red lightsaber ignited. A bassy, somewhat mechanical voice reaching his ears, "Impressive. Most impressive."

Bren didn't know the new ally that had ignited the green lightsaber and took out a B2, but introductions could be made later. Realizing his lightsaber wasn't going cut it he drew his blaster pistol and set it to overload before tossing it at the B2 from behind the tree. It essentially functioned as a low yield grenade, stumbling and damaging the B2.

In the time bought by the sacrifice of his weapon Bren closed the distance and started battering away at the B2 with his ligthsaber, focusing on its weakpoints and the areas most damaged by the explosion. Ensuring that it was well and truly out of commission.

"Thanks for the assist" Bren began to say to the new ally "My name is Bren..." the Bothan's voice trailed off into nothing as he saw a man from the horror stories told to him as a child. Clad in black armor and wielding a crimson saber, a Sith Lord stood before Bren. Out of reflex more than conscious thought, Bren raised his weapon in the Soresu opening stance, holding the blade in a one-handed grip, angled forwards with the blade arm held parallel, the other hand held up in challenge and his dominant (left) foot positioned back.

He had a bad feeling about this

[Empire of Donner land]

Yavin IV

---

19 ABY

---

Apprentice Ulsa Anve

---

In an instant, this thing could have slaughtered them wholesale in seconds or less. Ulsa was disarmed, her lightsaber sent flying. Meanwhile Martius went in with a slide, parried and kicked in the face. Ulsa was sent to the ground with her blade twirling away, turning off automatically. The dark figure left as soon as he came, leaving with the words "I expected better of someone of my lineage." Ulsa was dazed and it took her a while to get up, assisting Martius and pulled her lightsaber to her hand with casual use of the force. Before she could go to Khaza, she had already been going in the direction of the Arena Ulsa told them was the way. She was holding her shoulder. "Come on, let's catch up," Ulsa said to Martius, catching her breath and calming down from the adrenaline rush. "Could have been worse, could have lost my arm," Ulsa said offhandedly.

Ulsa caught up with Khaza with a quick jog, "hows the arm, I could hear you get hit, saw it out of the corner of my eye. That sound made my teeth hurt." Ulsa asked, taking a look at it as best she could in the dark and with her covering it. Since Khaza could still move her arm, Ulsa could only guess that she'd be fine. "Martius, was that thing talking to you? Something about a lineage." Ulsa asked, switching topics placing a hand on Khaza's wounded shoulder. As they walked through the jungle, they could almost see this Arena that would be their goal. Just a little longer.