You stand at the very top of the Shadow Academy—the great pyramid of Lyspair—in the offices of the Headmaster. A fire crackles merrily in the chamber, background noise for the battle yet to come. Two comfortable couches sit in the center of the long, ovoid room. Your eyes land on the desk opposite the fireplace, filled with datapads and forms. The yellowish glows of the flames illuminate the shelves of artifacts and holo-books surrounding the upper tier of the room. This was a private study, the place where the Headmaster of the Shadow Academy met his subordinates to discuss important matters.

Your eyes track beyond the desk, to an unassuming door which will lead directly to the Headmaster's living quarters. A side door to your immediate right leads to the more public office. The opposite door, standing on the left, leads to a private sparring room. You hear the soft rush of metal and cloth as your opponent pulls their weapon. Despite the sanctity of the Headmaster's chambers, the fight is inevitable. It was meant to be. As your hand drops down to your own weapon, you shift into a combat stance and prepare to draw.

Luna shifted her weight from side to side impatiently as she stood in front of some ancient Sith artifact on display. She had lost track of how long she had been waiting in the study for the Headmaster and Praetor to return. Formal scholarship was somewhat impractical for her tastes but it had its uses, most notably in the area of medicine. The Templar began to run through the Shadow Lady’s instructions for this mission once more in her head. The distinct sound of a door opening to her right side derailed her train of thought.

“What are you doing here?” A stern male voice inquired in a demanding tone.

Luna calmly turned around. “Waiting for the Headmaster, what are you doing here?”

A hulking bear of a man with well kept brown hair and a matching beard stood directly across from the Arconan. His weapons remained on his belt, but the intensity in his brown eyes and his stance suggested he was gearing up for a confrontation. “I work here, my business with the Headmaster is none of your concern.”

“Nor is it of any interest to me. Now if you will kindly wait in the public office I have sensitive matters to discuss with the Praetor and Headmaster.” Luna punctuated her sentence with an intense gaze of her own. This pup would have to wait his turn.

The large man was not impressed. “Listen grandma, I have pressing work for the Shadow Academy, I need to attend to. So, why don’t you go wait outside for a moment?” He did not flinch as he issued his challenge clothed as a request.

Luna cracked her gauntleted fists and began to slowly walk toward the younger man, shifting her gaze upward as she got closer to compensate for the height difference. “What did you just call me?”

“You hard of hearing too? I called you grandma.” The brown haired male stood his ground as the Mandalorian got nearly in face. A tense moment passed with only the crackle of the fireplace to break the silence as neither person said a word.

After what felt like minutes, Luna stepped back and laughed. “Very good young one, a lesser man would have flinched.” The brown haired main cocked one eyebrow with a confused look written on his face. “I suppose I am old enough to be a ba’buir.” Luna’s smile faded as a hint of her unflinching resolve returned to her face. “I’m still not leaving this room until I’ve seen the Headmaster.”

The younger man nodded with understanding. “Well it appears we are at an impasse then.” He gestured to the private sparring room. “Why don’t we settle this with a quick sparring match?” A cocksure smile appeared on his face.

The Templar was bored of waiting and the opportunity to teach this welp some manners was too good to pass up. “I like the way you think, an honor duel it is then.”

“The winner gets to see the Headmaster while the loser waits outside.”

Luna shook the younger man’s hand. “I accept your terms.”

The two warriors entered the private sparring room and took up positions on opposite sides. The Mandalorian began to remove her armor but the younger man held up his hand. “Keep it on if you like, wouldn’t want you to break a hip.”

Luna shook her head with a smile and readjusted her gauntlets. “I didn’t catch your name. I am Luna of Clan Arcona.”

“Zednich Wolfram of Clan Odan-Urr” The Knight announced waiting for the inevitable disparaging comment about light side users which never came. “Well, give me your best shot grandma.”

ba’buir - Mando’a for grandmother

The two charged at each other. The Jedi grabbed the Templar’s throat with both hands driving her back into the Headmaster’s bookshelf. Books rained down with splintered wood as they rolled right across the wall battling for position knocking off framed degrees and letters of accommodation. Luna slammed her elbows down on Zed’s arms trying to break is grasp on her throat. When that failed she drove her thumbs into his eyes until the pain was too great and the Jedi had to release his hands to save his eyes.

“Just because cataracts have clouded your vision in your....let’s say....advanced years, doesn’t mean you have blind me to make this a fair fight.” Zed quipped as he rubbed his eyes trying to regain focus.

“I’ll show you an advanced beating” Luna shot back. She tried to hide her smirk. This Jedi was insubordinate but she loved brawling with a side of banter.

Luna spotted a small bust of the Grand Master lying on the ground in the rubble of the broken bookcase.e She dropped to a knee grabbing the head and throwing at the Jedi. Zed leaned to the side and watched the metal face fly past his own. As he spun his head around Zed turned his chin into the punch. The Templar clocked Zed with full force sending him stumbling backwards into the wall. The pictures rattled on the wall behind him. The old broad had muscle he thought. Luna ran at the Jedi ready to knock him out with another punch like that. Zed blinked while he shook his head trying to bring the white haired silhouette into focus. The Sentinel reached behind him and yanked the nearest picture off the wall slamming it down on the Mandalorian’s head. The thin canvas wasn’t going to stop her, but it did distract her long enough for Zed to rolled off the small table he was leaning on. He took position behind the Headmaster’s desk.

Luna walked on the other side of the desk dropping the frame to the ground “How long you going hide behind that desk?”

Zed tilted his head “Shouldn’t be too long. I imagine you’ll drop dead of nature causes any second now.” He closed witticism with a big toothy smile.

The Jedi jolted the desk forward slamming the edge into Luna’s thighs causing her to buckle forward. Zed slid across the desk kicking the Templar in the stomach. The two fell to the floor with the Headmaster’s items. Zed grabbed a datapad lying next to him and smashed it against Luna’s blocking gauntlet. The two clinched together and rolled across the ground in the debris.

The sound of crunching glass and splintering wood filled the room as the two warriors struggled for control on the ground. It soon became readily apparent to Luna that her opponent was no slouch when it came to martial arts. Her every attempt to power her way into a dominant position was skillfully countered as the force of her movement was redirected. Zednich had passed through her guard and now had his full weight on her chest raining blows toward her face. The Mandalorian was in the uncomfortable position of being on her back with an aggressive opponent sitting on her chest.

Luna attempted to focus and search for an opening as she parried strike after strike aimed to crush her skull. She brought both fists upward in a single motion between strikes, knocking Zenich’s arms away for a split second. Continuing the motion she formed an “x” with her arms catching the Jedi Knight in a cross collar choke. The Templar grabbed the back side of the Sentinel’s collar with both hands and pulled him closer, closing the “x” and completing the choke. Zednich had no choice but to shift his weight away from Luna’s chest to lessen the pressure on his throat.

“Go to sleep little one, it’s time for your nap.” Luna managed to spit out between heavy breaths as she struggled to maintain the hold.

The ex-soldier was not about to lose to a middle-aged woman. He pushed upward with all his strength to break out of the choke. Luna seized the advantage, releasing the hold and thrusting her hips upward to force her opponent off her. Zednich continued the upward momentum, leaping to his feet. The Arconan moved backward a few paces to create some space before going into a crouch and getting to her own feet.

The two warriors paused for a moment as they stood directly across from one another. Neither was willing to yield or give up the fight. The sanctity of the Headmaster’s chambers would continue to bear the brunt of their combined stubbornness. Luna had seen her opponents martial arts skills and did not want to end up back on the ground. She shifted to a more evasive tactic, given the limited space available.

“You have some skill, I’ll give you that.” The Templar paused to absently nurse a massive bruise on her abdomen from the Knight’s punishing kick earlier then shifted into a ready stance. “This has been a worthy contest.”

“You’re pretty spry for an old lady.” The Knight commented with a modicum of respect in his voice.

“My youngest son would be about your age. He was never able to beat me either.”

Zednich rushed toward Luna ready to resume the struggle. The Templar brought her right hand up, palm facing her charging opponent and unleashed a targeted burst of telekinetic Force energy. The Knight brought his arms up to block the blast and, to Luna’s surprise, stood his ground. He had to stop his charge, but remained firmly rooted on the ground. If the blow phased him at all, he didn’t show it. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

Luna took advantage of the precious moments her opponent wasted boasting to draw upon her connection to the Force to replenish her reserves. She had something for him; he just needed to keep talking for a few more seconds.

The Knight allowed fleeting moment of silence to pass waiting for a witty retort. When none came, he resumed his charge. Luna braced herself for the onslaught. As Zednich closed the gap, he noticed too late that his opponent did not attempt to evade or counter the attack. He collided face first with his full momentum into an invisible wall of Force energy, temporarily stunning him. It took a few seconds for Luna to shift her concentration back to the physical, allowing the barrier to dissipate.

The Mandalorian leapt at her temporarily stunned opponent and stuck her left fist directly into the Knight’s neck without landing an actual blow. Confused, Zednich glared down at his opponent’s arm and wondered why she hadn’t actually struck him when she had the chance. Her hand barely made contact. “What are you doing?”

Luna smiled. “Ending this fight.” She shifted her fist downward so her knuckles faced the floor. Zednich’s eyes widened with surprise and momentary horror as he recognized the tell-tale click of a dart launcher engaging. At point-blank range Luna couldn’t miss. He felt the sting directly in his jugular vein. His opponent took several steps back as he stumbled to remove the dart.

“You...you poisoned me.”

“Technically speaking, I just sedated you. Like I said: it’s time for your nap.”

Zednich could give no reply as he slumped to the floor. Luna picked up her opponent’s unconscious body, carried him into the public waiting area outside the Headmaster’s chambers and deposited him into a soft chair.

A reception droid behind a desk turned to the Templar and inquired, “Is everything alright, ma’am?”

Luna dusted bits of debris off her armor. “It is now, send a team of cleaning droids to the Headmaster’s chambers immediately.” She returned to the office to wait.

The Mandalorian kicked the Jedi off of her. The two starred at each other as they slowly stood up. Zednich moved in with his shoulder leading trying to land quick jabs and a hook. Luna blocked all of them. She wasn’t perfectly versed in the ways of K’tara but she was good enough. The Jedi tried again. He threw a rapid string of shots at the Mandalorian mixing up a sequence of jab, uppercuts, and knee strikes. Once again the Obelisk dodged or blocked all the attacks like she was in Zed’s head.

The Mandalorian moved in for her chance to deliver some strikes of her own. She began throwing a combination of punches and kicks which Zednich blocked and evaded. Luna kept jabbing as the two circled the center of the office kicking the wreckage out of their paths. The Jedi jostled his head and shoulders away from the incoming punches. The Luna stopped circling and locked her body into a defensive posture not only bracing for but inviting Zednich to make the next move.

Zednich extended his arms out to his side letting out a single chuckle and asked. “Do you expect me to charge? I can see you’re trained in Jakelian. I charge you and you toss me into the wall. I am inside your head too grandma. I am the new Combat Studies Professor.”

Luna lowered her guard and threw her head back smacking her forehead in the process. “That’s why both of us were meeting the Headmaster at the same time. I’m the retiring Combat Studies Professor. I never would have guessed you were my replacement...you know...because you’re a Jedi.”

“What’s that suppose to mean.” Zed responded. “Well, I’m sure everyone in class will miss your firsthand accounts of how you helped develop Form I.”

Zed’s exaggerated smile turned to a comical cringe as the two surveyed the office from the floor up trying not to laugh at the absurdity of the mess. Zednich turned around straightening a picture on the wall and shot the Obelisk a smile with his eyebrows up implying that simple action fixed it all. Luna simply shook her head straight faced.

“We are going to need a droid in here ASAP.” Luna said tapping the face of a clock she found on the floor.

Suddenly the door to the Headmaster’s office shot open and Dacien stood in the frame looking over the carnage. The Professors spotted two turned over chairs and quickly slammed them down in front of the Headmaster’s desk sitting at attention. Dacien hung his head shaking it slowly as he moved through the chaos to his desk.

Zed winced as he said “Would you believe us if we said it was like this when we got here?”