Master Kamjin "Maverick" Lap'lamiz vs. High Inquisitor Hector Von Ricmore

The ocean world of Ahch-To looks to be nothing but blue seas from the distance of space. Dotting the oceans, however, are chains of rocky island that jut upwards to form shallow, sloping mountain ranges with small, flattened plateaus. Rich green trees and other small flora grow along the sedimentary stone, untouched by anything more than small avian creatures looking for a place to nest. Carved into the stones of the various islands are sets of winding, ascending and man-made pathways.

The crisp, clean air that wisps off the ocean helps maintain a fairly mild temperature during the day, with a healthy chill at sunset. Storms have been reported to flare up from time to time, leaving only the highest points of the islands safe from a rising tide. Porgs litter the islands, the oceans teem with a wide variety of fish, and large, docile Thala-sirens loiter on the rocky shores.

Although better known as the legendary home of the Jedi Order, a species of small-statured amphibious natives live simple lives as caretakers of the Jedi ruins. The ruins themselves are primarily small collections of stone huts, although numerous hidden caves dot the islands. Some contain evidence of previous habitation; many more house strong Force auras with mysterious effects on sentient beings, particularly Force-sensitives.

Brotherhood investigators believe that Ahch-To may still be home to a number of relics hidden away by the ancient Jedi Order. Recently they have uncovered the location of what they believe to be a large cache of artifacts, hidden in a cave on one of Ahch-To's remote islands. This information is a closely guarded secret, and you have been handed the task of uncovering and retrieving these relics. Other members of the Brotherhood, however, have also learned of the artifacts location. Another agent has been sent to follow you and retrieve the artifacts for their own purposes.

Kamjin squinted at the horizon. He did not want to be here, and the shuttle was late returning. He didn't know if it was a punishment or a reward that the new Grandmaster and seen fit to have him oversee the collection of Force relics littered about on this Sith forsaken rock. Undoubtedly it was meant as an opportunity for him to select the more interesting objects for himself. Instead, he had spent the whole trip ruminating on the unexpected change in fortunes. Years of work spent in the study of Lord Dacien. His mannerisms. His desires. His plots. All wasted with his sudden disappearances and the ascent of Darth Renatus.

Darth Renatus...that was a challenge for a year from now. Not today and Kamjin did not like being caught unprepared. While he knew he'd recover at this moment, staring out into the emerald greens and indigo blues of the unceasing ocean his rage simmered; longing for release. it was beneath him, he knew it, and yet...he wanted a fight. Like a moth caught in the flicker of a flame it was irresistible to him.

"Hey, watch it!"

Kamjin spun around, his cloak flapping majestically in the breeze. A Thisspiassian was berating one of the technicians operating a crane. Kamjin guessed that the crate surrounded by dust had narrowly avoided its tail. It was a flimsy pretense but it was enough. "What do you think you're doing?" Kamjin sneered as he approached. For the moment the Thisspiassian was hovering his torso off the ground similar to Kamjin's height. "These relics are worth more to the Brotherhood than you. When they're working you get out of the way."

The Thisspiassian, one Hector Von Ricmore, stared at Kamjin in bewildered amusement. Kamjin read the look as though the man was either dense or stupid. He didn't know which. He didn't care at the moment. Decades of Imperial propaganda poisoned his mind despite his deep rooted connections with numerous alien species. "Can you not understand me? I said, get out of the way." Kamjin grabbed the closest arm of the quad-pedal alien and gestured towards the landing pad where a queue of technicians were awaiting the delayed transport.

"Justicar Kamjin, I..." before Hector could finish his statement Kamjin had cut him off. "I don't want to hear it. You are impending the progress of this operation and I will hold you in contempt if you don't obey." Spittle was flying from Kamjin's mouth as his eyes pulsed yellow-red as he gave in to his baser instincts. The Dark Side is a drug that true Masters learned to harness. Yet the temptation is always there for even the most experienced of Sith to drink to deeply.

"Sir, unhand me."

"Or what?" Kamjin tugged the Thisspiassian towards the landing pad. Hector had had enough. He reared his torso up, yanking his hand free from the Justicar's grasp. Towering over Kamjin, Hector stretched out his arms in an impressive display of aggressiveness. Kamjin smirked, he was no simple creature challenging this man over his territory. He was the alpha predator and this was the opening he had so preciously desired. "You are to be placed under arrest for resisting a lawful order."

Kamjin's smirk grew into a broad smile as he watched the Thisspiassian begin to sway rhythmically, almost hypnotically, on his tail as he raised up his two primary limbs in a defensive stance. There was no style to it. No beauty. He almost felt pity for what was going to happen. With a flick of his hand a rock from one of the crumpled ruins darted towards the Thisspiassian's head. In the moment he shifted his attention to dodge, Kamjin pounced. Closing the short distance Kamjin and planted his fist into the massive abdomen of the man. Kamjin laughed as he remembered his training and the instructor who told him IMAS's favored tactic was called 'defanging the serpent.'

As Hector groaned and grasped at his belly with his lower arms, Kamjin grasped upon one. Yanking down he launched himself around and onto the Thisspiassian's back. Grasping the other arm, Kamjin stretched himself back, hyper extending the man's two lower arms behind him as the Justicar rode the thrashing serpent. Kamjin laughed as Hector tried to buck the Justicar off his back. The Thisspiassian's tail lashed out, crashing into the wall of one of the crumbling buildings causing it to collapse.

Kamjin moved to plant his knee into the long back bone of the Thisspiassian as he pulled harder on the two lower limbs. Hector raged and in Kamjin's gleeful distraction was able to grab the Justicar's head with his upper arms. Kamjin let out a scream as the creature hoisted him off his back and sent him soaring through the air. He connected hard with the wall of another shamble of a hut. If not for his armor he'd have broken his back as the building collapsed upon him.

"Enough!" The Thisspiassian hissed as he returned to his swaying. After a moment Kamjin dug himself out of the rubble. He spat blood on the cracked stone as he stood up. Reaching into his cloak he withdrew and ignited his blood-red lightsaber. Positioning it in-front of himself, his eyes blazing yellow-red, he smirked as blood slipped down his chin. "Hardly."

Well. Things had certainly escalated.

The last thing Hector Von Ricmore had expected when waking up today was for the Justicar to attempt to arrest him. The Thisspiassian had been concerned with the idea of breaking the Covenant and running afoul of the man in the past; who hadn’t had that concern at least once? But he never imagined that a confrontation would have occurred like this. Not over what seemed like such a simple accident.

The Serpentine figure stared at the armored human standing before him. The weapon held in his hands emitted a crimson light which highlighted his almost manic features. His blood stained chin and confident smirk stood out against the glowing blade, filling the Serpent with no small amount of unease.

Hector Von Ricmore had clashed blades against powerful Force users before. He had fought a series of duels against Appius Wight, and even more against the man who killed him, Anders. He had gone toe to toe with the almighty Immortal Sith, Darth Scimitar. Yet for all his experience he couldn’t stop the nervous feeling that flowed through him.

’Look at your battle record for those fights. Not a single victory against Anders or Appius. And you were not alone when you faced the Immortal Sith,’ Hector’s traitorous mind filled in with doubtful thoughts.

Nerves or not, there was no getting out of this one.

Hector recognized the longing on the face of his foe. The deep hunger of the Dark Side, a thirst that was never truly sated. It was a look he had seen upon Anders, upon the mighty Darth Scimitar, upon his own face once upon a time. In those earlier days when he was driven by ambition; before he had been brought to heel time and time again by his betters, and forced to re-evaluate himself.

But he had delayed in his thoughts for long enough. Kamjin would not wait for him much longer.

The Thisspiassian drew a long lightsaber hilt from his belt. With a twist, he separated the staff into two single blades. His top set of arms held a hilt in each hand, igniting the icy blue blades.

’Four blades might be overkill, let’s see how I do with two,’ He thought to himself.

The combatants moved towards one another, lightsaber blades humming in anticipation.

Hector’s probing swing was easily deflected. His second blade shifted to intercept the counter strike, pushing the crimson blade stabbing towards him safely aside.

He brought his blades above his head in an X, then swung them down at his foe.

His momentum felt wrong. He could feel himself lunging forward faster than he planned, his body tilting forwards and posture off balance. It was then that he noticed the slight unnatural grip upon his body. He was being pulled forward through the power of the Force, in a manner so subtle that he did not notice until it was too late.

Kamjin took advantage of the situation. Crimson blade gripped in both hands, he delivered a powerful slash against the twin sabers. The left blade was torn from the grasp of his foe, tumbling to the rocky ground and deactivating.

The Justicar swiftly moved to continue his assault. He had to abort his follow up swing and dodge backwards; narrowly avoid the gout of flame which poured from Hector’s outstretched upper right hand.

With another gesture the fallen lightsaber flew through the air, landing back in his hand and igniting once again.

”Is that truly all you are capable of? I had expected better from a so-called Son of Vizsla.”

Kamjin sneered at his foe. It appeared that he was as clumsy with a lightsaber as he was in avoiding the relic site.

”I was foolish to assume that I could defeat you with merely two blades,” Hector declared to Kamjin. “But I can’t afford to be arrested here, I have things to take care of. Things I can’t do from the confines of a cell.”

His lower arms each grabbed the hilt of a lightsaber on his belt and drew them forth. Each hilt ignited into a brilliant blue blade.

Four blades of arctic blue surrounded him, ready to crash against the crimson of his enemy.

Finally! Kamjin's sneer broadened to a smile. He hated when people held back and this Thisspiassian had clearly been doing that. He ignored the little voice in his head that reminded him of his own showboating earlier. He had enough ruminations to busy himself after his 'physical therapy'. Kamjin casually reached down and drew his matching hilt. The electric azure blade sprang forth in sharp contrast to Kamjin's raging blood red blade.

As the Thisspiassian raised himself higher, dwarfing the human Justicar, at a distance it appeared that lightning was striking a swaying tree. The Thisspiassian's four arms moved like the wind to parry and repose the Justicar's thrusts. Kamjin could feel the sweat pouring down his back. Hear the creak of his armor as he moved. With blades, and the extra arms, the Thisspiassian could duel Kamjin to a stand still. As his muscles ached that familiar mixture of pleasure and pain at being exerted Kamjin's thoughts began to stray.

Thrust! Slash! Parry! Their sabers moved as if there was a will of their own. Kamjin no longer wanted to just have a fight. It was no longer about that. It was about...and that was when the tail struck him again. Hector, who was clearly fighting for his life and not some sad ploy of the Justicar, had kept his focus and, seeing an opening, struck. As his blades pinched into Kamjin's, leaving the Justicar's arms spread wide, the Thisspiassian's tail punched Kamjin in the stomach.

The Justicar's grip slackened, his hilts collapsed to the ground, as he was flung across the grounds. He crumpled into a pile of crates that, luckily for the man, tumbled away from him. Flat on his back, Kamjin stared up at the drifting clouds. The sun beat down warm upon his skin. He hated it. Rolling on his side, he coughed up blood. He didn't feel any broken bones but they were definitely bruised. As he looked towards the Thisspiassian his vision blurred and nausea swam in his stomach.

In the distances, Hector was paralyzed with rumination. Should he run? Should he stay? Had he knocked sense into the Justicar or had he made a mistake? "My lord, let us end this! I will see things made right here!" Kamjin heard the words on the wind and it made his blood boil. No, this doesn't end like this. There is no graceful surrender. No deals to be struck. If my plans now lay in ruins then so shall this place! Kamjin forced himself to his knees. With sheer force of will, he raised himself back up.

Even at the distance between them Hector could see the yellow-red blood shot eyes of a Sith lost to their tormented passions. "Oh no." The Thisspiassian launched his full mass behind the nearest hut as arcing webs of Force Lightning were unleashed towards him. The ground smoked, the grass sizzled, the Thisspiassian slithered as fast as he could, extinguishing his blades for better mobility. The first hut he had hid behind exploded as he slithered behind the next.

Around him the relic crew scattered. Machinery was abandoned as people scrambled for their lives. Hector pulled up tight and flung himself backwards, narrowly missing a ribbon of energy that blinded him. Flinging himself in the other direction he made for the loading site. The metallic structures took the brunt of the lightning. Hector raced pass a loading crane. The lightning hit its metallic frame, arcing upwards until it found the crane. The explosion bloomed above Hector and he slithered away again as it came crashing down.

His chest heaved as he curled behind a crate of rubber crates. This wasn't going to end easily. In his mind a voice spoke to him softly. "You're not capable of defeating me." Hector twirled around. Flames were spreading from the wreckage. Alarm klaxons blared. Above the den a voice sounded an evacuation order. Hector didn't see anyone near him. Then the voice continued. "You were right to fear me. You are not what I expected and that disappoints me. Now...I will crush you..."

A sharp smell of ozone tinged the air as lightning leapt from the outstretched hand of Kamjin Lap’lamiz. A veritable storm shot forth towards his opponent, electricity arcing throughout the air.

Purple streaks slammed into a quartet of ice blue blades. The plasma weaponry intercepted the bolts, grounding the electricity before it harmed the wielder behind them. But the legendary blades did little to halt the impact behind the electricity.

The Serpentine figured was forced backward from the strength of the assault. His tail carved a small trench in the ground and gravel of the island; Hector Von Ricmore grimaced at the discomfort of such a sensation on his tail, even armored as it was. Plasteel was worn down and torn as he fought to stay upright against the deluge of sparks which split the sky.

Finally the barrage ceased. Not a hint of exertion showed on Kamjin’s face. The Sith had seemingly summoned a storm with the same amount of effort as someone going about their day. If it were not for the battle hungry look upon his face, Hector would hardly assume that the battle had affected his foe at all.

How utterly terrifying.

Yet despite the direness of the situation, the Thisspiassian could not help the exhilarating feeling which ran through him. There was something about fighting the strongest the galaxy had to offer. Something that made him feel alive.

Thrill or no thrill, it was obvious that he wouldn’t win this at range. Not against someone of this caliber. He had to close the distance quickly.

While nowhere near his preferred tactic, Hector did have an option. The energy of the Living Force pulsed through his body, gathering in his tail. He practically pushed off the ground, darting towards his foe at speed quick enough to appear as a blur.

Stones and boulders tore themselves from the ground, wrenched into the air by Kamjin’s mystical might. The Human hurled the stones at his rapidly approaching foe, one rock after another.

Four arctic blue blades swung at incredible speeds. They cut through the rocks before the boulders impacted, cutting and burning them into smaller pieces. Most of these flew by harmlessly; but nature would not be denied. Handfuls of rock shrapnel impacted the serpent, tearing and gouging chunks from the plastoid armor.

Pushing through the impacts he closed the gap. Four lightsabers rose up to strike down his foe.

”You will toss away your lightsabers.”

What? Why would he want to do such a thing?

”YOU WILL TOSS AWAY YOUR LIGHTSABERS.”

The presence boomed inside his skull. Body moving on autopilot, entirely unwillingly, the Serpent allowed the weapons to fall from his grasp. The hilts impacted the ground. Blades flickered out. The cylinders rolled for several seconds before coming to a stop on the rocky ground.

”YOU WILL SIT THERE AND WAIT.”

No, no, no, no. Not like this. Not like this.

Kamjin leisurely strolled towards his enemy. This had been an enjoyable opportunity, a good excuse to cut loose. To indulge himself.

“How does it feel to be held within my power Ricmore? The power of the Dark Side of the Force? Even with four blades, you were never a match for me. But that’s not surprising. Not from someone as pathetic as you.”

Hector Von Ricmore mentally thrashed and struggled against the unseen energy that manipulated his movements. He had bested Scimitar. Survived Anders. He couldn’t die like this. Frozen, unable to fight back.

He needed to move. He needed to move. He needed to move.

Crimson light slowly descended in an agonizing swing. A single finger moved tapping a button on Hector’s left gauntlet.

Fire roared out of the rebreather pack atop his back, hurtling him towards his foe.

Hector slammed bodily into Kamjin, knocking the human to the ground.

There was no elegance in what came next. Just savagery and a desperate desire to survive.

The impact freed the Serpent of the energy which bound him. His top arms curled around Kamjin’s throat while the bottom arms landed blow after blow into the human’s chest.

Kamjin thrashed and kicked, impacting his foe for every blow he took.

But Hector held on. He wanted to live. He wanted to live.

Hector felt cold. So very cold. Yellow eyes stared into eyes burned Crimson from channeling the Dark Side.

Then all he knew was pain.

Lighting erupted across his body. Kamjin grappled the Serpent, holding onto despite the erratic movements. Hector seized rapidly, the purple lightning ravaged his body. His mouth contorted into a silent scream, nerves unable to send the signal that he should be howling.

And then his struggles fell silent. The serpent fell unmoving to the rocky floor.

The Dark Side practically purred at the conflict and death. Kamjin had achieved what he sought. An outlet for release.