[Where: The sands of Tatooine.
What: Lightsabers and Force powers only. Force speed isn't allowed.
Who: Darth Thrax and someone of Master Grade 5 or above.]
Supreme Commander Alor
[[Care to duel the guy that joined right after and trained alongside you?]]
Darth Thrax
[You are exactly the guy that I was wanting to duel. Now, I know that I am a bit rusty on my rp'ing skills so try to take it easy. Why don't you go ahead and start it off? I suck at making the first post on a duel.]
Supreme Commander Alor
It was quiet. Well void of the noises of civilization that permeated through the other planets of the galaxy. Here only the howling of the dry wind, and sizzling of the ground, and the calls of wild insects and animals could be heard. Grains of sand flew through the air, stinging any exposed skin they touched.
The absence of civilized noise was broken by the whine of engines and the rumbling of repulsors. The Venator I-Class Star Destroyer hovered above the sandy wasteland of Tatooine. Here it waited.
Lord Marix, Supreme Commander of the Sith Imperial Armed Forces of the Eternal Empire stood on the bridge. "Hail Darth Thrax and let him know we are here."
Darth Thrax
Thrax kept his eyes closed as he heard on his comlink that Marix was in the vicinity. He slowly opened his eyes and could see a sandstorm brewing. He lifted the black mask higher on his face to prevent choking on the sand. That wouldn't look so well on my death record, he thought. He let out a very slight chuckle at his attempt at humor and could hear Marix's destroyer in the distance.
Supreme Commander Alor
The Supreme Commander disembarked from the destroyer when it was over the predetermined area for the duel. The newly inducted recruit to the Army was already there, well prepared against the ensuing sand storm.
The Sith Lord was in his normal attire. He did not wear glorious robes or fabrics, but rather more practical clothing even for such a special occasion. His image was reminiscent of his grandfather’s attire during the Clone Wars. Quinlan Vos had been one of the few Jedi to wear protective armor, just as Marix was one of the few Sith doing so now. The armor plates were taken from his Mandalorian Armor and placed on his upper arms and shoulders, upper and lower legs, as well as his chest. Underneath he wears a Cortosis-woven armor-protected long-sleeved shirt—over was merely a skintight synthetic black shirt—with matching armor-protected black pants. Hanging down to his Krayt-hide boots from his neck was a loosely fitted black cape, which furled out behind him as he walked.
As both Sith Battle Master and a Military man, Marix was always prepared, no matter what the occasion. Hanging from his belt was his main saber, resembling that of Darth Maul but with improvements, and hidden over his body were another two sabers, a DC-15 blaster pistol, a holdout in his left boot, a vibro-blade in his right. He had seriously considered getting shoto-sabers in holsters on his wrists, but has yet to do so. As for equipment, Markaro Vos had two comm-links, one for Official use, the other for his own private use, as well as a synth-cord shooter, miniature holo-projector, personal holocron, re-breather, and ration packs and water for a week.
"Welcome, Private Thrax to Tatooine and your training. You will only be able to enhance your abilities as you are molded into a weapon of the Empire. Do you have any questions before we begin?"
High Mage Serratus
((Hardly necessary but for formality's sake, I will GM the duel. Supreme Commander, you appear to have mistakenly been addressing Shadow Protector Tarna rather than Darth Thrax.))
Supreme Commander Alor
[[Thank you. I guess I duel Tarna way too much. ]]
Darth Thrax
[ 'Tis alright. ]
Thrax nodded at the Supreme Commander and he slowly began to walk towards him. Marix, his long time friend, was still the same man that he always remembered him as. He stopped before him and rolled his mask down just far enough to speak to him. "Still the same Marix. Always skipping past the formalities and getting right down to business." He saw Marix smirk a little and he let out a slight grunt in acknowledgement. "I am a man of few words, as you already know, but I am also a man that is glad to see his long time friend." Thrax could hear the wind screeching as it began to pick up, but he remained focused on the man before him. This duel was more than just military practice.
Supreme Commander Alor
"I find the beating around the bush and the gossip to hardly be helpful in my field of work, so I leave it out. Time is very important in the Military, and so to lose time fooling around with words is unacceptable." The Sith Lord cracked his neck, and rolled his shoulders, getting his body ready for the upcoming duel. "It has been a long time, Thrax. But stories can wait until after the duel."
With that, the Supreme Commander took out his main saber, and ignited the silver blade. The sword of light hummed in the air, burning the sand particles that were blown into it by the wind, creating a slight smell of melted plastic. He held it in a salute, waiting for Thrax to return the salute, allowing the duel to begin.
Darth Thrax
Thrax rolled his mask back up, ignited his emerald saber and returned the salute to Marix. He brought his blade back down to hold a defensive position and took a few steps back. He was calm, but at the same time tense. The sandstorm would work heavily against both of the men and it would be a challenge to gain the upperhand. After no movement from either of the military men, Thrax began to walk towards Marix while holding his defensive stance, ready for anything.
Supreme Commander Alor
The Sith Lord slipped into the opening stance of Djem So, holding the lightsaber above the head, angled back and down at an approximately forty-five degree angle. It provided adequate protection, but also had an aggressive side, allowing the user to press the offensive without switching forms.
Darth Marix stepped to his left, bringing his saber down over his head in both hands, a classic Djem So attack. Darth Thrax easily side stepped the attack, and swept his saber horizontally, trying to counter the Djem So with Shien. In a graceful flip, Marix flew over the blade, and landed behind it, safe from the swipe. He took a step back, and then took another go, a jab inwards feint, followed by a horizontal slash of his own.
Darth Thrax
Darth Thrax dodged the jab and quickly crouched under the slash that quickly followed. He stood straight up and parried another slash that was sent at him. Thrax took a few steps back and switched his style to Vaapad. He lunged forward and struck downward then quickly swung the blade around towards the Supreme Commander's legs. Marix easily dodged the first strike and jumped over the blade as it passed underneath him. Marix landed on his feet without losing balance and stayed in a defensive stance as his opponent began to switch things up. Thrax kept on the offensive although Marix blocked the attacks with relative ease.
Supreme Commander Alor
Thrax's skill with a saber had improved with his age. While the ex-Inquisitor had not become a Battle Master as a Member Select rank, he had not forgotten how to use a blade as many older Sith were known to do, relying on bodyguards, the Force, and shear political consequences for their safety.
"Why do you use a green blade?" He asked Private Thrax out of curiosity. Vos himself had a green blade, but that was his Grandfather's lightsaber, recovered from his Grandmother's tomb before he had even come to the Sith.
Darth Thrax
While holding a defensive position he answered the Supreme Commander's question without hesitation. "I've had this green blade ever since I was a boy." He leaned out of the way of the incoming strike and could feel the sweat starting to bead under his mask. "This is the blade that struck down my 'master' in the Jedi temple." He could remember feeling the raw power and hatred flowing through him as his blade sliced through the human flesh like warm butter. "The feeling was... tantalizing."
Supreme Commander Alor
"So it holds memories for you. I would advise that you create another blade then. Service in the Army does not guarantee the survival of your equipment. I myself have yet to use my Grandfather's blade in Military service, because I value it."
Jumping back, away from Thrax he unleashed a blast of lightning at the ex-Inquisitor, the blue tendrils of energy darting through the dry air, causing the air itself to spark and crackle under the onslaught.
Darth Thrax
Thrax rolled out of the way of some of the storm, but ended up catching the remaining parts of the lightning with his saber. He grunted in response at Marix's words and decided that creating a new lightsaber would be the first thing that he did when he got back on Iridonia. The sandstorm began to die down, but the heat began to rise, a curse of Tatooine that he had noticed everytime he came to Tatooine. Then the zabrak lunged at the Supreme Commander and combined three smooth slashes together, but he was still able to block all of his attacks. The ex-inquisitor bared his teeth in frustation and rolled away from Marix, looking for an opening. Darth Thrax then ignited his second saber and jumped at Marix, hoping that this would catch him off-guard.
Supreme Commander Alor
[[On iPod, s lease excuse spelling and grammar mistakes. I have big fingers...]]
One of the things that people knew about the Supreme Commander's main blade was that is was a staff saber. Based on Maul's and Ventresses' design, it gave him two sabers in one. While Thrax's move was not expected, Marix's counter was fluid in its movement. Ignting his other blade from the end of the same casing, he caught Thrax's blades in the NFL of time, sumbling backwards with the effort of blocking the two blades that were driven by the airborne Army trainee.
"Bane tried a similar move, and his Batlemaster had the same counter." Marix said, twisting his blades. The staff saber split into two blades, complete wth separate casings. He flicked his blades outward, casting Thrax into an awkward fall to the ground. "I am a Battlemaster, Thrax. I will not be taken that easily."
Darth Thrax
Thrax flipped backwards and landed on his feet perfectly, dusting himself off while standing back up straight. Thrax reignited his blades which had been turned off as he fell to the ground and jerked his head, popping his neck. "I didn't think you would be, but it was worth a try." Thrax said with a cold, emotionless voice. He tapped his fingers against the warm silver hilts that he held firmly within his hand and began to walk towards the Supreme Commander. He grunted as he lunged forward and jabbed his sabers directly at Marix's chest, while trying to sweep his foot out from under him. The manuever felt awkward to the zabrak, but he was resorting to the unorthodox to defeat his opponent.
Supreme Commander Alor
The Supreme Commander let his feet be swept from underneath him, catching himself in the Force centimeters above the hot, gritty sand that made up the majority of Tatooine's landscape. With his left handed saber, he batted the sabers, that were pointed where Marix's heart had been before, away and using the Force lifted himself back up. His right saber followed the left saber, only it was aimed at Thrax instead of the sabers that were now blocked by the left saber.
Darth Thrax
Thrax spun around quickly and crouched while he did so to avoid Marix's saber. He swung his sabers around and slashed at the legs of his opponent, causing him to jump over Thrax and swing at his back. The Gatesmaster could sense the attack aimed at his back and immediately brought his right saber over his head to block it. He turned to face Marix and stood up straight while still blocking the saber with his right blade. Thrax swung his left blade directly at Marix's waist and forcefully pushed his right saber against his opponent's right saber.
Supreme Commander Alor
Marix brought his left saber up and managed to block Thrax's blade, but leverage was not on his side. The his blade was close to the hilt of Thrax's emerald saber, but matched at mid-length of his own blade. Slowly, leverage gave Thrax the upper hand, and Marix's own blade was brought closer and closer to his body.
Desparately, Marix unleashed a ball of Force energy, whose affect was similar to a Force Push in such confined spaces. Thrax and Marix both went flying in opposite directions, landing in the walls of the two sand dunes that created the valley they were dueling it.
Stumbling to his feet Marix climbed to the top of his sand dune, and used the Force to directed a blast of hot sand at Thrax, buffeting the Army Trainee and pinning him down.
Darth Thrax
The twin suns of Tattooine scorched Tatooine, but not to the extent that the planet would be set on fire by the heat. Wind was non-existent at this time and the air was extremely dry, making it hard to breath for any species. Unfortunately for the two Sith battling in the Dune Sea, the suns would not be setting soon.
Thrax was hit by the now white-hot sand and immediately lifted his robe up to block any incoming sand. After a few moments passed, he stood up and could see Marix on the opposite sand dune. He hadn't moved anywhere, obviously waiting for the zabrak to make his move.
The Gatesmaster slowly began to ball his hands into fists and focused only on the Battlemaster, nothing else. Thrax then leaped into the air and slammed his fists against the burning sand which sent a shockwave underneath the sand and straight for Marix, tossing up sand as it barreled down on him.
Supreme Commander Alor
Marix was hit the by the blast and thrown backwards, tumbling down the other side of the dune he had been standing on. That will bruise he thought as he stood back up. Straightening his back he popped a vertebrate into place and then used the Force to find Thrax. The desert was void of life, so it wasn't too hard to see the pulsing beacon in the Force that signaled a Force user.
The Sith Lord spat out a glob of sand that had entered his mouth and Force jumped over the dune, spraying lighting beneath him as he was over Thrax. Falling, Marix slammed his saber into the ground, producing a circular shockwave that went out in every direction, knocking the sizzling ex-Inquisitor off his feet and into the sand once more. Lifting Thrax up in the air with the Force he held the Army Trainee upside down until Thrax managed to break his grip and twist in the air to land on his feet.
"Good." Marix said. "Your opponents will not always be useless with the Force. You must be able to defend yourself against them, even in a regular battle between two governments."
Darth Thrax
Thrax clipped his silver hilts back to his belt on his waist and rubbed his hands together slowly. The hilts were scorching hot, but he barely noticed the heat. He barely noticed anything anymore mainly due to the emotional scarring of seeing his parent's bodies, burnt, lying side-by-side. The memory still served as a constant reminder of the Jedi Order and the pain that it had caused him as a child.
As he shook his head so he would stop exploring his thoughts, he took a few steps back from his friend. While he backed away, he stopped rubbing his hands and bared his teeth. His sabers unclipped themselves then flew straight at Marix's chest. As they flew at the Supreme Commander, Thrax charged at him, ready to tackle him to the ground.
Supreme Commander Alor
Reaching out with the Force, Marix changed the degree of the flying lightsabers' flight, and they nosedived into the sand, burning a deep hole before Thrax let go of them in the Force.
Faced with only one man, Marix kicked Thrax in the face, knocking the Zabrak to the left, his shoulder clipping Marix in the thigh, causing both Sith to fall to the ground. But Marix still had a lightsaber, two actually, and Thrax's were buried in the ground.
Getting up, slightly slower than earlier, he ignited his blades and held them at Thrax's throat. "What now, Army Poodoo." He said, trying to play a real enemy of the Empire versus Thrax.
Darth Thrax
Thrax's eyes burned with intensity and he growled as he ignited his sabers which were still in the sand. The sabers flew at both sides of Marix's ribs which caused him to try and stop them which meant that he had only a split second of time to react. Thrax used the Force to make sand fly into the Sith Lord's eyes and he blasted him with a burst of air. The zabrak then rolled to the left and pulled his sabers back to him while Marix was falling back to the ground. As Marix was feet from hitting the ground, Thrax deactivated his sabers and jumped into the air, kneeing Marix in the gut.
Supreme Commander Alor
The air rushed out of Markaro like the bolts from a turbolaser. He rolled away from Thrax and tried to breath, but was met with a painful no from his lungs. Squatting, he held his sabers in front of him to defend himself, somewhat, while clicking a button on his commlink. The comm returned with two clicks and Marix stared at the Zabrak.
"Tell me, Thrax, what is going to happen now? What am I going to teach you next?"
Darth Thrax
The zabrak stood still with his sabers ignited. His eye twitched and knew that Marix was up to something. "I honestly do not know, Marix, but I am aware that you have planned something for me." Thrax's eyes flickered from black to blood red for a few moments as he stood, waiting, a few feet from the Supreme Commander.
Supreme Commander Alor
Leaping forward, Marix started up a furious storm with his sabers, leaving Thrax almost no room to maneuver to block or avoid the sabers path. Using the Force, he clicked his comm three times, and got a double-click response.
"The one thing you must never forget," Marix said through the Force to Thrax, "Is that in war, there will be soldiers."
At the same time, a Battalion from the 501st appeared over the tops of the dunes surrounding the two Sith. Their blasters leveled at Thrax. Marix jumped away, giving them a clear line of fire.
"Open fire." He said, and watched as Thrax involuntarily flinched. There were 500 guns pointed in his direction, not good odds, even if he was a Dark Lord of the Sith. The soldiers did not open fire though, as was the agreed plan between Marix and the troops.
"That lesson is one you must never forget."
Darth Thrax
That lesson is one you must never forget. Thrax's eyes burned with intensity as he replayed Marix's words over and over in his mind. Sweat dripped off of the zabrak's forehead and fell from his chin as he nodded at the Supreme Commander. The battle was over. Thrax knew it and so did Marix. "You have fought well, Lord Marix. But... maybe if I, too, was a battlemaster, things might've been different. Do you mind giving me a lift?" The zabrak cracked a slight grin and deactivated his emerald saber, the sweat still dripping from his chin.
Why don't you go ahead and start it off? I suck at making the first post on a duel.]
]]