A Spar with the Grandmaster

[Ral]

The overhead lighting of Indupar's sun was bright, even when he had hood up and a visor over his eyes. It made it hard for Kai Sera to figure out where he was supposed to be, an inconvenience for the young Jedi, but nothing more. As his boots clapped against the durasteel flooring of the Jedi outpost, his mind wandered about the state of the Order, and what the future would hold as war was once again gripping the Galaxy. The rebels had launched a renewed assault against the Empire, and they had struck back at Manaan, and now they were moving against Bestine and Fondor. The Jedi Order for their part did what they could to support their friends and allies, but Kai worried it wasn't enough, that they weren't striking hard enough or fast enough. Aside from doing what little he could, Kai had felt somewhat useless after destroying the palace. He wanted to strike out again, but he knew that there needed to be the opportunity and the right plan; he wasn't foolish enough to go looking for trouble.

So, he thought it best to train and practice in preparation for those coming fights, those coming battles. As he walked down the long, bare corridors of the Jedi safehouse, passing rows of bright open skylights, the Jedi Councilor came to one of the larger training rooms. It was currently bare and empty, but in a pinch they could fill it with crates and training droids from a nearby "closet" that was adjacent to the training room. From the looks of it he was actually the first one there; he had beaten his intended dueling partner there it seems. Of course, Kai wasn't dueling just anyone today, he had requested to spar with Grandmaster Orlaan Ghess. The great bear of a man looked like he could eat Kai for breakfast as he was well over a full foot taller than him, and built like an AT-AT. Ghess simply looked like that kind of man who could throw just about anyone, even a full grown Rancor across the room with ease. It was for this reason Kai wished to spar with him. The man was no doubt experienced with fighting and combat, and knew how to use his physical abilities to aid him in combat. If Kai ever wished to defeat someone larger than him; he would need to be able to first learn how to survive long enough against someone like Ghess. His only true duel against a Sith was against an acolyte named Jorath who while even large, over seven feet tall and easily twice Kai's weight, paled in comparison to the Jedi grandmaster.

Seeing as that he still had a little bit of time, Kai thought it best to warm up. He had no idea what the older Jedi Master would have him do, so he figured he'd best be ready when he arrived both physically and mentally. So, he started his basic warm-up drills, nothing too intensive, just enough to get the blood flowing a little and let him break out into a bit of a sweat.

@BrandonIsMySenpai94 (I can't believe that's the name I have to tag...)

 

[Ben]

Orlaan had his nose buried in the after action report from a recent encounter with the Sith, hardly noticing where his feet were taking him; they knew the way well enough on their own. He was acutely aware that the time was drawing near for his sparring session with the latest Jedi he'd appointed to the Council with the advisement of the other Master's, and of course in recognition to his being at the forefront of the Jedi's recent assaults deep into Sith territory. Ghess had only met Kai a few times prior to his involvement with the bombings on Coruscant, but had begun to know him a little more personally since then - he was a good guy.

Eyes flicking up to the chrono in the top corner of his datapad's display, Orlaan swore in Mando'a before shoving the tech into a pocket in his robe and tearing off around the corner, using the wall to anchor himself so he didn't career into the one opposite. The Jedi hulk didn't want to disrespect his latest peer by being late, and he loathed to keep people waiting - to him, it was the simplest way to tell someone 'your times means less than mine'. So it was with gritted teeth and even further disheveled hair than usual that Orlaan skidded through the parting doors and into the training hall, stopping just short of sending the miniature Kai into careering into some distant part of the solar system via collision-with-Beard.

Straightening himself, Orlaan gave a slight nodding-bow, apologising for being late to the meeting and stripping off his outer robe, tossing it and his saber into the corner of the room. Orlaan followed Kai's example that he'd been setting prior to being rudely interrupted, stretching out his muscles and ligaments. Ghess summoned a pair of bokken from a nearby weapons rack, and tossed one in Kai's direction by way of a greeting.

"No training setting beats honest bruises, right?"

The older Jedi merely grinned at the sanity-questioning and clearly sceptical raising of an eyebrow that Kai offered him, it was always fun to break in the greenies. Orlaan exhaled one big gush of hair, centring himself in the moment and brushing away all his hastiness and stress - he always loved a good bit of physical trial to clear his mind.

"Right, sorry about all that!" Ghess waved his hand about in general reference to 'all that' before going on "been a bit busy of late, as you can imagine. How are you settling into your new position? Anything I can do for you to help make the transition a little easier? Well earned to be sure, but I still imagine it all came as a bit of a... shock?"

The warrior levelled his blade and began twirling it about lightning fast, slashing and lunging with the force of a charging Reek, throwing in elbow strikes and micro-pushes with the Force into mid-air as he talked, loosening up for their session.

 

[Ral]

Kai had been in the middle of one of his practice forms moving close to the door when the great Bear(d) entered the training room nearly running right into the much smaller Jedi. Rolling off to the side, using the Force to aid in his roll and recovery, the young Jedi hopped to his feet and returned the bow the Grandmaster gave. As the older man used the Force to pull some training weapons over from the weapons rack, Kai wondered what Ghess had planned. As he tossed one at Kai, the Jedi reached a hand up to grab curved practice training sword out of the air. It was made of a white wood, and it had both a solid build and a hefty weight to it.

Grasping it so that he had a better hold of the bokken, Kai took a couple of swings through the air to get a better feel of the training weapon. As the Grandmaster asked his question, Kai gave a raised eyebrow for a few seconds before chuckling for a second. "Yes, I'm sure that is very true, Master Ghess."

As Orlaan apologized, Kai waved it off casually with a polite smile on his face. "It's perfectly fine, Master Ghess, you're a busy person. I completely understand how busy you've been. As for me?" Kai paused to think on the question for a few brief moments as he swung the sword around him in circles. "It hasn't been too bad, I s'ppose. Doing my best to fill the shoes and fulfill the duties that are expected of me. I'm not sure what you can do at the moment, but if I think of something I'll be sure to ask. The promotion was a bit of a surprise, but a good one. I hope to be able to help the Order more now as a Councilor."

 

[Ben]

"Good, glad to hear it. Now get the stick outta your ass and stop being so damn formal. If we Councillor's can't loosen up around one another, then when can we, eh?"

Orlaan stepped forward and clapped Kai on the shoulder.

"Now I understand you want to spar, have me impart some of my experience with you? The do's and don't's of fighting, lightsaber combat, yada yada."

Kai gave a polite smile and a nod, which Orlaan returned with a wicked grin. Orlaan rammed the hilt of the bokken into Kai's stomach, whilst using the hand on the younger Jedi's shoulder to both pull him into the strike, and throw him across the room, where he landed rather unceremoniously on the flat of his ass with a huff.

"Good then! Lesson one! Never let your opponent get a hold of you - especially if they are larger and stronger."

A booming laugh escaped the Jedi's barrel chest, much amused with his own trickery. He could almost feel Kai rolling his eyes at him as the newly-minted Master recovered from the blow, springing to his feet athletically.

"Admirable constitution. It'll serve you well in prolonged fights."

As Kai stood back up, the larger Jedi sent a push at his feet, swinging in high and fast with the bokken - there was no time for getting ones breath on the battlefield.

 

[Ral]

Chuckling lightly, Kai nodded at the Grandmaster as he told him to lighten up and clapped him on the shoulder. The young man flinched a little as the big man caused Kai to move slightly just from the impact of the tap. Nodding, Kai answered Orlaan's question, "Er-right. I will. Yes, that's right Orlaan, I need more practical experience."

Kai had just finished nodding politely when the big man flashed a wicked grin and slammed the end of the wooden training sword into his gut with a loud "oof" escaping the younger man's lungs. The impact was hard and fast, and the whole thing happened before Kai even knew what was going on. Orlaan had managed to pull him into the strike and Kai quickly found himself flying through the air for a moment or two. Landing on the ground and hearing the great bear speaking, telling him to never let an opponent, especially a bigger opponent. Rolling his eyes as Orlaan let out an appropriately loud laugh, Kai called on the Force to strengthen his resolve and allow him to spring to his feet. Coughing slightly, Kai focused himself and held his training sword up.

The Grandmaster's attack was met by Kai attempting, and failing, to resist the push towards his legs by Force of Will alone. As he tumbled around, Kai did his best to regain his stance by using the Force to get his feet under him again. The young Jedi's mind went into combat mode, no time for talk or extraneous thoughts. Kai didn't so much block the incoming attack, he simply tried to deflect it off to the side where he could avoid taking the force of the big man's blow directly. Attempting a riposte, Kai would flick the bokken forward towards Orlaan's hip before taking a step back trying to put some distance between him and the large Master.

 

[Ben]

Orlaaan grinned as he saw Kai's gaze both harden, focussing intently, and haze over as he took in the wider situation. Somewhere along the line he'd learnt a good lesson or two about keeping yourself alive in open combat, and the taller Jedi couldn't be more pleased. That did not mean, however, that Kai had all the answers. Whilst he redirection of Orlaan's blade -- slipping out from under it's crushing force -- was tactically impressive, and his well-executed and sharp riposte displayed admirable form, Kai had made one glaring miscalculation: these were not lightsabers.

Perhaps if Kai had put more power behind his jabbing attack towards Orlaan's hip, the younger Jedi would have been met with more success. However as it was, the strike was what would be a well planned move with a lightsaber, intended to keep ones assailant at arms length lest they risk being skewered. As it was, the Grandmaster simply stepped into the blow, wincing almost unnoticeably a little at the sharp and short point of pain in the fleshy inner portion of his hip. Stepping into the attack meant the distance Kai had made, Orlaan covered just as quickly, likewise, the returned force met by the blow would likely affect the smaller Master's grip on his weapon.

Of course, the beefy warrior wasn't going to let his sparring partner get away with merely a stressed grip for his mistake. Oh no! Orlaan, who had adjusted his grip from Kai's riposte whilst stepping into the latter's stab, swung his bokken up diagonally in an arc that would cross from hip to chin if Kai did not avoid it. Ghess aimed the beginning of the arc towards the foot Kai had been back peddling on to, where his weight would currently be balanced, making it harder for him to sidestep the attack - this would help Orlaan neutralise one of Kai's advantaged, being smaller and nimbler.

 

[Ral]

As Kai jabbed his training sword into Orlaan's hip, the young Master was surprised to see the big man step into the blow. That was something Kai had never seen before, and at first it confused the younger man. Why would such a large man do that? Surely, he was big enough to take the hit, but had these been lightsabers that blow could have been debilitating. Then he realized, that these were not lightsabers, and the Grandmaster had played on that fact. Kai kicked himself mentally; he always prided himself on being able to think outside of the box, but it was clear he had been outplayed here. The Grandmaster's move had thrown Kai off balance as he stepped back, Orlaan moving in with what was for him a very short step closed the gap Kai had intended to place between the two of them.

With his arms slightly skewed from the interrupted thrust, Kai had few options in an attempt to block the Grandmaster's next attack. And had the blade of the bokken been a blade of pure energy like that of a lightsaber which had failed to penetrate his opponent leaving him in a similar situation, Kai would very likely be received a very painful welt on his hip as he had almost no time to call on the Force and push Orlaan back. However, as it was, his blade was not made out of pure energy, and he could grip it. Reacting as quickly as he could, Kai brings his training sword back and down, gripping the end of the blade with his off hand and placing it in the path of Orlaan's swing whilst leaning his torso away trying to get a precious few centimeters in order to clear the swing. The Grandmaster's swing, however, was fast in spite of how large and muscular he was, and he managed to strike Kai's blade before he had managed to properly brace or get it into position.

The impact sent Kai's bokken back into himself and picked him up off his feet a few inches. Pain blossomed on Kai's side for a moment as his own sword was pushed back into him with great force. Doing his best to recover, Kai attempted to push back enough to help him push off and roll away. Upon landing, the smaller Master would call on the Force and send a powerful Push towards the Grandmaster, aimed towards his feet in the hopes of getting him off balance for his follow-up Force-assisted charge and slash at Orlaan's knees.

 

[Ben]

Like a Nek on a Nerf's rump, Orlaan stuck to Kai as he rolled away. Battle was ceaseless, exhausting, and damn messy. Likely not something the young Jedi was particularly familiar with, regardless of how talented -- which Orlaan could confirm he was quite talented indeed -- a duelist he may have been. This was a lesson the warrior was determined to teach. Normally, he'd be more relaxed, more lenient. This was not a normal time - they had declared war. This was real, lives were on the line.

Ghess stamped his foot down on the first stride of his pursuit, natural size and of course the Force sending a tremor through the training room floor in an attempt to unsteady Kai's retreat. The Grandmaster was on him before he would have much of a chance to right himself however.

As Kai began to straighten, Orlaan had caught up with his massive strides. Orlaan flicked his blade up once more, same angle of attack, same speed, same grip. At the last minute, he let go of the blade, sending it flicking at Kai in a rapid spiral motion towards his face from point blank range. The Jedi behemoth dove after his weapon, aiming to tackle the younger Jedi as he got to his feet.