Mando Tourney Stage 2: Dalyn versus Crystal

[The Storyteller]

Dalyn Solus versus Crystal Krzye​

The Trial of Skill was meant to test a warrior’s ability to work alone and was the second stage of the Mandalorian tournament. In this round of fighting, two teams of one would battle for supremacy and to render the other fighter incapable of fighting back. If a Mandalorian could not work and defend themselves in single combat, then they were no use to the crusade. The Mand’alor and War Council would see who could not hold their own in this duel.

Today’s round would be located within a threatening arena on the Inner Rim jungle moon of Dxun filled with tall trees, thick underbrush, and ropy hanging vines. There are a few meters in between each tree, and vines hang from the thick foliage throughout the entirety of the arena. The arena is dimly lit, and the sounds of apex predators can be heard in the distance. Cutting the arena in half diagonally from one corner to another is a rushing river seven meters wide. In the middle of the river is a narrow rope bridge, and halfway between that and the arena corners of the river are flat boulders of various sizes dotting across the surface, close enough together to use as a hopping bridge. Vines hang over the river. Halfway between the river and the dry corners of the arena are clusters of tree platforms.

The two fighters would start opposite each other in the arena. Their loadouts, as before, were randomized.

Dalyn (@Rom) would be outfitted in the torso, upper arm, and lower leg armor of forest green medium beskar’gam with only one listed functions (since he lacked a helmet) and a grapple line and would carry a single timed-fuse concussion grenade and two stolen Deucalian Kastaöxis. Additionally, he had several pieces of rope hanging off of his armor. One piece was 3m long, one piece was 1m long, and the other was 10m long. Each had variable diameters and rated capacities.

Crystal (@Algarus) would be outfitted in a full suit of sand-gold heavy beskar’gam with a visor that’s prone to fogging up and concealed blade and would carry a beviin light repeater with 20 shots of ammo and a backup dart pistol with two darts ready to load. One was a very powerful sedative and the other was an extremely powerful aphrodisiac. They’re not labeled which is which.

Several droids floated around, streaming the fight for the rest of the Mandalorian people. The Mand’alor and War Council would watch as well, judging the fighters on their skill, tenacity, and ability to adapt.

 

[Crystal Kryze]

She had made it to the second round, meanwhile her brother had failed. So needless to say, Crystal was feeling pretty good about all this. When the second match started, she had been stripped of her giraffe onesie and given this....rather uncomfortable suit of heavy beskar'gam. She used to wear a suit just like this, but with a much better color scheme, but at least the weapon she was familiar with.

Taking a moment to load up one of the dart guns, the woman stepped forward, taking a look around the world that was to be their battlefield. She wouldn't be winning any races in here, that was for sure. After having loaded up the dart gun, she would tuck the repeater across her chest and begin to march forward slowly, keeping her repeater at the ready. She wasn't sure what Dalyn was known for, they had only done that one mission together after all, but he seemed like a bit of a wild card. Given he had tried shooting her brothers testicles off, that seemed to be a correct assumption about the man. Romeo still was complaining about that, he wouldn't be able to score a woman for months now. Dalyn had inadvertently saved alot of poor women by his actions, so Crystal had to give him props for that.

@Rom

 

[Dalyn Solus]

Grateful to be armored in good - not pink and vomit green - Mandalorian beskar'gam again, Dalyn waived a dismissive hand at the jeering of the verde in the dropship ferrying him to the arena and took a moment to breathe in the damp Dxun air. Much of his verdgoten had been spent on the hellish moon of Onderon and the howls of drexl and zakkeg echoing in the distance tugged at memories of hunts with his father. The sounds and smells of the jungle enveloped him, and it felt like being welcomed home.

Taking stock of his kit with a slight frown, Dalyn looked out across the Arena crouched low for cover in the thick underbrush and moved behind one of the many thick trees filling the arena. The green of his armor made for excellent camouflage and he took a moment to cover his face with a few streaks of dirt. Looking up, the Singing Badger activated his jump boots and leapt straight up into the canopy, grasping a thick vine at the apex of his jump and swinging himself into a junction of branches where he could prepare. The base of the trees themselves were several meters apart but the canopy blanketed much of the arena, and it was from here Dalyn would take control of the field.

Pulling one of the Deucelian axes from his hip along with a 3 meter length of thin, yet strong rope, Dalyn set about tying one end around the handle of the axe as tightly as possible. He knew his opponent from a mission against some pirates within Mandalorian space, and wondered if she held any ill will toward him for maiming her brother in his last tournament bout.

'Well, either way, one Kyrze down and one more to go.'

 

[Crystal Kryze]

Crystal would press on now, with the cover of the trees from above, she knew that trying to prevent an attack from above would be a pain in the rear. This helmet wasn't doing her any favors either, so Crystal removed it, instead taking a handful of dirty and covering her face with it. She'd find another use for the helmet later though. Moving forward, Crystal would see the clearing up ahead, leading out to the river and the opening where she could only guess her opponent would be coming from. Seeing this, she made her way into the underbrush, wading through it as she reached the edge of cover and went prone, allowing the foliage to cover her. She kept herself low to the ground, crouching down as to keep herself obscure.

She would take the helmet she had just removed and throw it upwards from where she was, as it bounced and rolled close to the rivers edge, maybe it'd catch her attackers attention, maybe not. Having gotten rid of that annoyance, she aimed her rifle across the way, careful that the barrel wouldn't be jutting out in the open, as she swept back and forth, through the vines and foliage. She didn't have much ammo, but she would have to make it count.

@Rom

 

[Dalyn Solus]

Dalyn kept his movements slow and steady to avoid disturbing the canopy, moving through the trees along the northern side of the arena. Upon reaching the cleared space where the trees trunks ended and the river began, the Mandalorian climbed into the top of the canopy, aimed his grapple line at a promising tree across the river, and fired at a lower angle. Securing the grapple point on his side of the river after giving a few tugs to ensure it was secure, Dalyn swept the 1m rope over the grapple tether, gripped it tightly in both hands, and took a moment to look down river at the rest of the arena, looking for any sign of his opponent.

His patience was rewarded as halfway down the river near the rope bridge a sand-gold sphere was tossed up out of the foliage and left to tumble along the river bank, blatantly visible in the dark greens and browns of the jungle. Noting the arc of the throw, Dalyn grinned like a Nexu and threw himself out of the canopy. The grapple line and rope served as an impromptu zipline, his greater height and momentum allowing him to quickly cross above the 7 meters of water in a blur of dull green blending in to the dim lighting and backdrop of the jungle. Dalyn landed in the tree on the east side of the river with a dull thud and immediately started moving again, climbing carefully through the canopy and leaving the meter of rope and the grapple line behind.

He moved south through the trees like a hungry predator, approaching the area where he had seen the helmet appear. From his vantage point in the canopy twelve meters above the jungle floor he could make out his opponents shock of bright red hair and the brilliant golden armor laying prone in the tall grasses about three meters from his current perch, her repeater scanning the clearing and the bridge where he should have emerged from. Moving as quietly as he possibly could, Dalyn tied one end of the 10m rope around the branch and then reached for the concussion grenade on his hip.

Setting the timer for two seconds and cooking it, Dalyn threw the grenade down ontop of Crystal and rappelled down the tree trunk using his rope the moment it exploded, keeping the tree between him and his opponent in case she managed to avoid the effects of his explosives. He readied his weapons, peaked around the trunk to see if she'd been caught in the blast radius, and if so he'd rush forward with axes raised to attack whilst she was disoriented.

@Algarus

 

[Crystal Kryze]

Keeping low in the grass, it hadn't occurred to the young woman just how much of a idiot she was right now. As time ticked on and she was unable to find her target, Crystal instead tried to take in the sounds around her, only to be drowned out by the roaring of the river, and the creaking of the tree branches. But there was alot of rustling with the tree branches now, maybe a little too much. She glanced up curious, only to find a grenade flying right towards her. Her eyes widened in shock, as she attempted to leap forward and escape the blast, only to fail and be sent sprawled out into clearing stomach first, weapon still in her arms. Her ears were ringing, her vision gone, as she was shaken by the blast. She rolled onto to her back, trying to make heads or tails of what happened, but she couldn't accomplish much of anything now. She raised her arms up over head, expecting to be pelted with some manner of attack.


@Rom

 

[Dalyn Solus]

Dalyn slowed his dash as Crystal flipped onto her back, weapon forgotten and arms raised defensively over her head and eyes blindly seeking out an enemy she could neither see nor hear. Sheathing one of the axes, he stooped to pick up the dart pistol that had fallen from her holster in the scramble to try and avoid his grenade. This way he wouldn't have to hurt her to end the fight.

Stepping to the side, Dalyn kneeled and raised the pistol before firing the loaded dart into the side of her neck. Tossing the empty pistol aside, he then took his second axe and raised it to her throat, the heat of the axe penetrating the fogging effect of the concussion grenade and letting her know to be still.

"Sweet dreams, Kryze."

@Algarus

 

[Crystal Kryze]

Crystal kept her arms raised, waiting for the attack that never came. She waited, tense as she could hardly hear herself over the ringing in her ears. A sudden sting, like that of a bug bit, struck the side of her neck, and after a moment realized she had be shot by her own dart. She attempted to get up, her still baffled senses clumsily propelled senses moved her forward, only to be brought to a halt by a surge of heat. Wincing, she stopped herself, knowing she was done. The sleeping dart was going to take effect soon, and it was all going to be over. Except, she didn't feel fatigue coursing through her system, no, it was something far more...unusual. She let her head drop, as the strange sensation began to settle in. She closed her eyes, trying to fight against the urge she was getting now, this was the worst possible time for this.

A low groan escaped Crystal's lips, as she felt a mix of confusion and shame. "Oh Kriff..." Here she was, stuck in the middle of the jungle, at the mercy of her enemy, and an unexplained desire to just get freaky. It did give her something else though, the drive to get physical. Still feeling the sensation from the sting of the dart, she knew where Dalyn would be. With her arms still over her chest, she'd lash out with her left arm trying to grab hold of anything, a collar, shoulder, maybe even an arm, and just try to get ahold of him. Her cybernetic limb would lash towards the warmth around her neck and try to bat it away. Given she was blind, deaf, and acting off pure chemicals in the brain, it wasn't exactly stellar choreography. Her mind was split on two different things, but right now they were working towards a common goal. She wasn't going to go quietly.

@Rom

 

[The Storyteller]

Before the two contestants could continue their fight, a fully armored Mandalorian field marshal landed neatly in the middle of the arena, having jumped from his ship flying above and using his jetpack to guide his descent. He looked at the one remaining fighter, then to the droids flying around and broadcasting the event on the Holonet.

”This fight has concluded!” he shouted, ensuring everyone could hear him, ”The other duel has ended and this one must come to a judge’s decision. The Mand’alor and his War Council have made their decision, and it is final!” He paused for a moment to build up suspense before drawing his beskad and pointing it at Dalyn.

”The winner of this duel by decision is Dalyn Solus!”

There was a time limit established for the duel, and, unfortunately, this fight had run its course. Dalyn had outmaneuvered Crystal using the jungle to his advantage and had her entirely at his mercy. She was blind, deafened, and… feeling pretty hot and bothered, while Dalyn held his axe to her throat. While she could continue fighting or trying to bone, it was time to come to a judge’s ruling. The War Council’s decision was final, and they would not entertain any resistance.