Ask Mustafar Mustafar: Arau’kesh J’av v Cremek

[J’aver Shi’eth]

The flames of Mustafar, it was a nexus of the Dark Side. A place that had permanently been forced to embody Darth Vader’s own anguish. It was an important place to the Sith Order and had been selected by Cremek for their Arau’kesh. None of the pageantry mattered to J’aver though, they had come to break Cremek, to humble him, and then kill him before the whole Order. To J’aver, Cremek was a mad man, a cancer within the core of the Dark Side, something that had to be snuffed out before it spread. To J’aver, this had transcended a personal slight, it was their unholy mandate.

They stood in the ashen ring that would serve as their dueling pit. The 12 foot walls of this pit were smooth and featureless obsidian. A two foot wide moat of magma roiled around the perimeter of the 40 foot in radius arena. J’av had watched as super heated steam had burst through cracks in the ground at random intervals, providing a new threat the pair would have to be aware of. If there were any other traps J’av was unaware of them.

The Dark Sider had come wearing their helmet, bracers, and boots. Their legs, chest, and back were left entirely exposed save for a layer of armorweave. In one of their hands, they gripped the dingy chrome hilt of their lightsaber, their blaster pistol had been left above, they wouldn’t be using it here.

Soon their opponent, Cremek the fool would arrive. The duel would commence. And one of them would die.

@Hastur

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

twas now that cremek himself arrived, dropping down into the arena like a falling shadow, he had changed much since prakkith, his armor had gone fully black, his visor now gently glowing a ruby red hue, a painted fanged crescent smile was painted on his helmet, he lands with a light thud, before dusting himself and looking to his challenger.

"Ahah! why hello j'aver, long time no see my angry friend! isn't this meeting so poetic? two warriors of separate paths now colliding in a heated battle that will set an example for all?"

he gave a chuckle.

"I could taste the hatred and anger even in your holo! well done! if you were not challenging me to a battle of supremacy you would have immediately earned my respect, but now, you have my attention, come, speak whatever words you wish to speak and let us duel."

@Apollyon

 

[J’aver Shi’eth]

Cremek leapt down from the stands and into the dueling arena, making a show of his entrance. It only served to heighten J’aver’s spite. Their opponent had arrived in full regalia, Mandalorian armor, a cape trailing behind them as they fell to towards the arena proper. Behind Cremek trailed four reconnaissance droids, meant to record and broadcast the duel to holo-screens. Once Cremek had cleared the lip of the arena entirely and the cadre of droids had as well, a ray shield would suddenly activate at the mouth of the ring it would seal them both in.

As Cremek fell towards the floor, J’av wouldn’t wait for him to land or speak to commence their duel. Instead, they would hurl a hate fueled telekinetic blast at the Sith Master as he fell, their aim being to smash him into the back wall of the dueling pit. It would hopefully knock the Sith out or daze him long enough for the man to meet his end by tumbling into the lava moat below.

Moments after this, J’av’s saber would ignite with a dull thrum. They would dash towards where their opponent would land, their gaze fixated on their foe. They would be ready to snap their blade up in defense or evade any retaliation Cremek might offer.

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

cremek had anticipated this, and was more than ready to defend himself, as he held up his hand and channeled the force into tatiminus, absorbing the energy and using it to fuel him, he ignites his saber in what seemed to be makashi and swung when his foe charged, when j'av would snap to block, the true horror of cremeks form would be revealed, as he used the "pass the blade" technique of trakata, disabling his saber for but a mear moment and reactivating it in a feint in order to bypass j'avs guard, if the vicious attack were to land, it would cut j'av in his side.

"I have shown you, courtesy. enough."

the sheer dishonor of this sith, attacking a foe before it was time, oh well, what did he expect, j'av will learn that cremek was far more dangerous than the sum of his parts.

 

[J’aver Shi’eth]

Cremek dealt with the initial attack flawlessly. And launched into their own assault in reply. Cremek would swing at J’aver in a horizontal arc, it was a testing strike. One that was easily deflected, but Cremek seemed to lean into the strike, it made no sense.

Wary, J’av took a half step back and swung their blade up across their body and at a diagonal to meet Cremek’s strike from below. As they did this, J’aver would lean away from the strike itself, creating distance and ensuring their blade would cause maximum damage if it struck.

Or it would have.

As J’aver’s blade traveled up towards their opponent, Cremek’s blade would vanish bypassing J’aver’s mounting assault, trakata. J’av wouldn’t have time completely evade the attack, instead they would have to push backwards with their heel into a half leap backwards. This would turn an intended mortal blow into a less severe one. The altered trajectory of J’aver’s blade would threaten to sever Cremek’s left leg alone instead of slicing through it and his groin as well if the Sith Master didn’t move to evade.

However, J’av would hiss in pain as edge of Cremek’s blade sliced their armorweave and cut into their flank. The strike left a shallow molten furrow where flesh had once been. Cremek had made a mistake, he had shown part of his hand early into the duel for simple bravado.

J’av would quickly recover from the quickly exchange, regardless of what Cremek chose. They would throw themself towards him, their blade thrusting out in one hand to pierce their opponent’s chest. The other kept close to their chest to gather power.

@Hastur

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

as j'av would fall back, cremek would close in like a hungry wolf and continue the assault in makashi, focusing the dark side into his strikes in order to drain his foes stamina.

when j'av would lunge he would swat the saber aside in order to protect his legs.



Cremek would then make excellent use of his own armor, batting the thrust aside and going for a right hook to the jaw.


Cremek would then attempt at slashing upwards sending sparks in order to distract him, if this maneuver were to work, cremek would bring the saber down and force jav to block in a uncomfortable position, while cremek used his crossguard to his advantage and burn into his shoulder.

(ooc edit: sorry i totally misread the post, so im just fixing my reaction!)

@Apollyon

 

[J’aver Shi’eth]

Through the pain in his side, J’av felt another twinge of surprise. Cremek had utilized his gauntlet to bat away their blade when they had thrusted for his chest. The man truly was insane, he had given up two advantages early on into the duel for a minor gain. Because if these developments, confidence surged within J’av.

From the corner of their eye, J’av noticed the upper cut coming and sneered. They weaved the blow as it came in, they pulled their head back at the last moment, which ensured the punch went wide. As they did this, J’av would sidestep Cremek’s upwards swing, which was possible due to the light weight nature of the armor they had chosen to wear.

This movement would bring J’aver alongside Cremek’s left flank around the same tome the upwards swing would reach its apex. With Cremek’s guard up so high, J’av would crouch low and spring forwards like a hungering predator.

The crimson blade of J’aver’s lightsaber would lance up into a thrust. The attack was aimed to pierce the man’s side and run through his left lung and up through the right side of his chest, impaling him on the red blade. Since nothing had been done to break J’aver’s welling of power it would be unleashed now. Cremek would feel the invisible tendrils of the Dark Side wrap him in a vice-grip and jerk him down and into J’aver’s thrust.

This would occur before the downwards blow began. And given J’aver’s new positioning and use of the Force it would make it difficult for Cremek react quick enough to evade the strike. With his guard up so high and his left cortosis bracer ruined from moments ago, blocking the strike would be next to impossible. The man would have to figure out a way to escape this situation in the few heart beats of time he would have.

If he continued his downward strike, it would mean certain death. Doubly so since Cremek would now have to adjust their positioning to face J’aver while striking. The situation Cremek found themself in would be dire, death was calling for fallen Mandalorian.

@Hastur

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

cremeks break came, jav used the force, which was Cremeks specialty, he would allow himself to be pulled, but thrust down , using his crossguards sides to his advantage to bring javs saber down to the ground, lessening what would have been a dangerous blow, as the blade was caught just short of doing any lethal damage, but it still sliced a small hole in Cremeks durasteel chest piece around his ribs, he growls in pain, but cremek remains defiant.

while it was true, death was calling, he was essentially a dead man walking since hoth, but it was not today. it would not be time to transport his soul to the manda here, he would not allow it, he had a planet to reunite and a people to reforge, cremek was filled with sheer determination to continue on despite the wound.

he would now wait, for javs reaction, and prepared to react accordingly.

@Apollyon

 

[J’aver Shi’eth]

J’av watched as their prey was jerked downwards towards them, they watched as their blade lanced towards it’s flank, the taste of victory was near. Then a red quillon from the prey’s weapon slammed into their own blade, the force knocked it off course. Instead of landing a lethal blow, J’av was forced to watch as it punctured the prey’s armor on the left flank. It would likely leave its own furrow across their ribcage, potentially taking out a few ribs but not causing any truly critical damage.

Cremek’s weight pressed down harshly on J’aver’s own blade, the quillon that had neutered their strike forcing their blade down and away from Cremek’s body. J’av would press up into the lock for a moment, creating a counter force that Cremek would likely adjust their own force to meet. Then J’aver would show part of their hand.

J’aver’s blade would deactivate with a sinister hiss, the upward press they had placed against the quillon would enable them to bypass Cremek’s guard in an efficient manner. Once cleared of the quillon, J’av would reactivate their lightsaber and strike inwards towards Cremek’s now exposed flank. The slice would be aimed to carve through Cremek’s left shoulder, the arm which gripped his lightsaber, literally disarming him.

However, without any foreknowledge that J’aver was a student of Trakata as well, he would have no way of expecting the feint. This was combined with Cremek still being pulled downward towards J’aver and his own defensive thrust having considerable weight placed behind it in an attempt to pin J’aver’s blade all the way to the ground, it would be unlikely Cremek would be able to react quickly rotate his lightsaber in defense. This was not enough for the man’s would be killer, to close the margin of error further J’aver would tap into the Dark Side once more.

They would use the energy to accelerate their own strike once it passed Cremek’s guard. This would come in the form of a short burst of Force Speed that would give J’aver the edge they hoped they needed to lay the Mandalorian fool low.

@Hastur

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

Ah, quite the pleasant surprise, a fellow student of trakata! Cremek laughed.

this is when cremek himself demonstrated a card in his hand, as two saber blades, one on each side of cremeks remaining gauntlet, erupted from a pair of emitters, he would utilize this and manage to just barely block the strike in time, using this as a moment to commit his own reposte, and going for a quick thrust with his main saber.

@Apollyon

 

[J’aver Shi’eth]

A final surprise almost caught J’av off-guard. A pair of blades erupted from Cremek’s lightsaber gauntlet. The blades crossed his body and caught J’av own blade on the lower of the two, blocking it and ensuring that their disarming strike fell just short. J’av heard Cremek’s lightsaber adjust from the downward thrust position and they quickly moved three half steps to the right and away from Cremek’s blade. Despite the quick reaction, J’av would still feel the heat of Cremek’s lightsaber on their skin as it punched through their armorweave robe as they moved away.

As they did this, J’av would slash out towards the right with their own lightsaber, which was still within Cremek’s guard. They would follow the lower blade of Cremek’s lightsaber gauntlet, slashing across the man’s upper torso, in an attempt to bisect him.

With Cremek’s main saber at the end of the thrust and his lightsaber gauntlet tucked high to blow J’av’s initial blow, this was a killing blow would be difficult to evade. Movement to the left would ensure J’av blade only cut through him faster. Since Cremek was committed to the thrust, falling back in time to evade the strike would also be difficult. And since J’av have committed to the slash as they moved, following them to the right likely would result in some damage sustained.

It seemed that Cremek’s life would be measured in minutes rather than decades.

@Hastur

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

Cremek was prepared for a counter attack this time, this entire fight, he had been studying, learning javs patterns, using his most dangerous weapon, his adaptability, now expecting one, he made himself seem temporarily vulnerable when he moved to attack that time, playing on javs confidence, and jav played right into Cremeks plan.


This allowed him to make his move accordingly, moving right to mitigate the damage, but using both his weapons to punish jav, he would channel the force into making him faster for a moment as he sliced his gauntlet towards javs uper juggular, using his crossguard to counter anything further.

@Apollyon

 

[J’aver Shi’eth]

J’av could see Cremek as he moved, they watched as the Sith Master twisted their wrist and slashed out at them with his mounted sabers. Both Cremek and J’av leaned back putting as much distance from each other’s strike as they possibly could without compromising their own’s effectiveness. Despite both knowing what was to come, neither broke off their assault, they both could sense the end of their duel upon them.

The edge of J’av’s blade carved across Cremek’s chest, opening it, and severely damaging his lungs and burning his heart. Even as this happened, J’av realized the danger to their neck and pulled their head back as far as they could. They tucked their chin down and tried to protect their throat. They were unaware of what would come next because of this. Cremek’s blade split their vox-grill in half, even as his chest was split open. Pain erupted across Ja’vs face as burning plasma carved through the duraplast of their helmet. The crimson edge neatly sliced through J’av’s lower jaw, leaving the ruined nerve endings to scream in agony.

Even as their blade finished its ruin across Cremek, J’av stumbled back and away from their opponent’s collapsing body. Their gauntleted hand instinctively reached up to touch their lower helmet but found nothing of it nor their lower jaw remained. Instead, J’av only felt the further ruination of their own face. Their eyes flickered between Cremek’s prone form and the smoldering wrecking of the bottom portion of their own helmet. There they found their jaw, fused with the molten duraplast that had protected it moments before.

They attempted to hiss in pain and rage but only a gurgle escaped the wreckage of their own mouth and throat.

J’av felt the arena floor beginning to rise and they stumbled towards their fallen foe, he was still alive, they could sense it. J’av would fumble with the locks on Cremek’s helmet for a moment before they ripped it free. It would be a trophy they would keep.

The ray shields deactivated as the ring grew closer to the top and when it finally crested, neophytes rushed the platform. They would have attempted to loot Cremek’s body, but J’av wouldn’t allow it. Calling his fallen adversaries lightsaber to their free hand, they ignited the pair of weapons once more as a warning to the on-rushing crowd. The crowd halted as J’av stood over Cremek’s fallen corpse, none would loot his body, none would touch him. Cremek would lay right there on Mustafar until his bones became one with the ash, at least if J’av had anything to say about it.

@Hastur

 

[Cremek "Krayt" Candorus]

When cremek fell, and jav attempted to scrub Cremeks memories, every fiber of his being instinctively rallied against him,

Cremeks suit, thought damaged, shocked his body, yanking him from the brink.

cremek drifted back into councousness, he slowly made an effort to rise to his knees, knowing damn well none of them were in any shape to fight further, while he simply couldn't remember where he was or what he was doing, his instinct guided him, his sheer force of will pushing cremek to. God. Damn. Rise.

He felt like he couldn't breathe, the wound seared, and his vision was blurry, but out of sheer spite, he clung onto life and onto councousness. His will to live and defiance apparent for all to see.

@Apollyon