Two towering, tinted, transparisteel doors slide open to grant you access to the central chamber of the Combat Training Halls. The main room is wide and open and as large as as a holoball field. Tall walls stretch towards a domed ceiling that is made up of rows of ambient lights that spread out and fill the room with soft even lighting that eliminates any shades or shadows. Those same walls are lined around the perimeter with racks and stacks of varied weaponry: everything from swords and polearms to rifles and flamethrowers.

There are two signs that hover over each weapon rack to create an alternating motif in the Combat Training Hall: “No Explosions” and “Accorded Neutral Territory”. While the first is fairly obvious, the second speaks to the single law of the Training Halls: all members of the Brotherhood are welcome, and no member is to be killed or maimed without incurring the wrath of the Grand Master and the Inquisitori.

A trio of training dummies are statically set up and spread out in a line, each made out of a blend of alloys and padding that can withstand blows from any standard weaponry with the exception of lightsaber blades. To the side of the dummies, a large sparring matt has been stretched out to create a larger footprint than the typical Shock-Boxing ring. The padding is good for helping teach new combat students how to take a fall without injury and offers firm footing, but the hard durarubber mat is hardly forgiving.

Behind the sparring area is a door that leads to a small archives that combat students can use to view holorecordings of fights and duels from the past as well as relevant information on combat tactics, techniques, and forms. On the opposite side of the archives at the far end of central room is the locker room that members can safely store their equipment.

The final and probably most important element of the Combat Training Hall is the onsite Med Ward. The maglock door is sealed off and can only be opened by an attending Medic. The Medical facilities feature state of the art bacta tanks for recovery and aftercare. A combination of observation and waiting room rests adjacent to the recovery center and features two large monitors that display a live feed of the central room.

The Combat Halls are staffed around the clock, allowing combat students and mentors alike to come and go as they please at odd or regular hours. It also reserved for members looking to prove their worth to compete in the Antei Combat Center.

[Venue Note: Weapons incorporated into your match are allowed to be used, even if not listed on your Weapon Load Out for the match itself. Skill usage and all other ACC rules and guidelines still applies.]

Abadeer Taasii felt ready. As he walked through the automatic sliding doors, he could smell the sweat, blood and other bodily aromas of the Training Center. He’d been here to train with his Master. The dummies on his left were familiar as well. He’d spent hours practicing his basic form, as Kz’set attempted to drill the forms into Taasii.

Taasii had just recently, in the last week, received his license to participate in the Combat Center against other fighters and this was his first match. Mostly he was excited. It was the first single combat he’d been able to do since leaving Shili. The stakes weren’t as high now, but still he felt the adrenaline beginning to course that cold feeling through his limbs heightening his senses.

As he was just beginning to learn the arts of combat as were taught by the Brotherhood, his Master had suggested that a more controlled match would be in order. He recommended taking a request to the Clan PlagueisOne had stepped forward to volunteer, her name Va'nia Drellik. She was experienced and powerful, at the rank of Battlelord, the same as his Master.

“So you have finally come,” a disembodied voice rang out across the room. Abadeer wheeled around towards the practice mat, caught off guard having thought himself alone. He squinted, reaching out with all his senses. There! In the corner of the room he could now feel a distinct presence with the Force. Seemingly out of nowhere a dark skinned female emerged from whatever abilities she’d using to cloak her presence. “You must be Va’nia Drellik,” Abadeer offered a slight bow towards the Kiffar. “Before we begin, may I ask a question?” The woman gestured with her hand for him to continue. “Why did you volunteer to be my first challenge?” Abadeer questioned, squaring off to his opponent, ready at a moment’s notice. He pulled off his tunic letting it dangle around his waist exposing his chest for combat.

“Why don’t we find out young warrior,” she answered as she prepared for combat.

Abadeer drew for his lightsaber, lighting the blade as he pulled into its proper position. He stood with his right foot forward, left foot farther back, shoulder width apart. He was strong, but a novice in the art of lightsaber combat. He prepared himself for a strike, while also being ready to strike. Va’nia drew her lightsaber, letting it hang in her hand easily at her side. It was an amber blade that hummed with deadly rhythm.

She had her eyes on him, pacing back and forth in the middle of the mat. Abadeer kept a close eye on her as well. Though he expected his opponent to attack first, he was growing impatient and wouldn't wait forever. Without making any visible outward movements, Abadeer reached to the Force to strengthen his body,suddenly springing forth with unnatural speed and strength. . He flew off the ground straight at the woman, saber held high for a direct downwards chop. As he brought the blade down, the Kiffar was no longer there. She stepped easily out of the way of his attack. Her back was turned and she was slowly meandering away.

Enraged at her utter appearance of uncaring, Taasii sprang after her with all his might again, this time with a left to right attack. Before the fatal blow could land, there was a blade to block his right in time. Va’nia without turning had reached over her shoulder to block the blow. She easily pushed his blade away and turned cutting diagonally at Taasii. He could only sense the attack moments before it came. He fell clumsily backwards to avoid the deadly blow, rolling back to his feet in a crouched position, blade raised for defense from any additional attacks.

“Your attacks are slow, predictable, and stupid young Sith. If you expect to live longer than you have, you must hone your skills. This is why I volunteered. To show you, that you are nothing.” She said all of this calmly and coldly while studying the Togruta. “Let me show you what a real Sith can do!” she exclaimed lunging at him with a flurry of blows.

It is very common for people to see Niman as a reserved art, or a soft art but in the hands of a skilled practitioner it was anything but.The style was predicated on superficial cuts and burns. While the strikes may look like they are coming at random Va’nia was carefully picking her attacks as to not critically wound the Togruta. After all this was a nice distraction from all of the recent politicking that had been going on in Plagueis and the Brotherhood as a whole lately. If nothing else it would allow her to evaluate some of the younger members of the clan and judge their usefulness as allies or fodder. She scored a glancing blow on the Neophyte’s left shoulder and he skipped back out of range.

Abadeer had two other burns to join the wound he’d just received on his shoulder. A small cut across his abdomen and a graze against his left thigh. Nothing serious but enough so that he understood his training was lacking, but lacking enough damage to encourage him to continue to be aggressive. “So apprentice,” Va’nia called out to the Togruta, “what would you say your greatest weakness is?” the Kiffar asked deactivating her lightsaber and returning it to her belt. Abadeer looked at her with an inquisitive stare and then reset his stance and tightened his grip on his lightsaber. “I’m not trying to trick you, I’m simply curious.” Va’nia assured him by holding her palms up towards him in a non threatening gesture. Again Abadeer did not respond and Va’nia inclined her head in a small bow. “Very well,” the Battlelady turned and waved a dismissive hand over her shoulder towards the Neophyte as she walked in the direction of the locker rooms, “I suppose someone will be a long later to kill you.”

Va’nia could almost taste the rage building up in the Togruta as he seethed and charged towards her with a yell. She almost felt bad for being able to predict the young man but as it had with her time would season him as well, that is if he survived long enough. She reached out with the Force towards one of the training dummies and ripped some of the padding off, past a cadre of young sith training in that area and directed it to strike the Togruta in the side, with the intent of sending him stumbling off balance. The result was quite spectacular and unplanned. Va’nia’s attack was off target and the pads sailed low towards Abadeer and one of them found it’s way under his foot as another struck him in the side of the leg. The result was Va’nia not even attempting to stifle her laughter as the Togruta pinwheeled his arms and landed face first on the hard ground, lightsaber clattering to a stop at the toe of Va’nia’s boot.

“I’ll tell you what your greatest weakness is,” she managed to say through a fit of laughter, “over confidence and a single minded determination to attack your target. You have no awareness.” She stooped down and picked up his lightsaber. “It’s crude,” she commented as it turned over in her fingers, “looks mass produced and I’m assuming an alchemically created crystal as well. I think I’ll hold onto this for a bit.” She tucked the weapon into her robe somewhere and she could see the anger in the young man. “You’ve got the passion, but not the talent. However that is something that can be remedied. You look well put together so I’m assuming you’re no stranger to fisticuffs so why don’t you come and give me everything you’ve got. One blow right on the chin.” She raised her head so that her chin was exposed with a grin on her face. Abadeer forcibly exhaled a blast of air from his nostrils and charged.

Before he had taken two steps Va’nia had extended her left hand with her fingers splayed in his direction. There was a loud crackling sound and the distinctive smell of ionized air as a blue arc of lightning jutted out from her fingertips.

All the Neophyte could remember before tasting the ground once more, was a loud crack and a blue light. His muscles were contracting as hard as they could, occasionally relaxing, only to snap right back to full contraction. He could hear a voice talking to him, Vania's, but the sound was dulled by the agony and hardly audible over his own screams. He was only on the floor for a matter of seconds, but as he writhed in the most intense pain he ever knew, it felt like hours.

Slowly the burning sensation passed, and Abadeer could breathe again. All of his nerve endings were on fire, but his senses were starting to come back online. He opened his eyes to see the woman slowly advancing towards him. She had no weapons, just a calm, cool confidence that came from knowing how far below you your opponent is.

Taasii let his eyes close, unsure of what to do, focusing on the training Kz'set had given him. Reaching out to the Force, he briefly held back the pangs of anger for a moment of clarity: most species relied on sight and sound, but a Togruta could rely on his echolocation to accurately “see” his opponent. She was just inside his range. He looked back up, flashing his opponent a fanged smile. Suddenly, all there was to be seen was darkness.

The moment this darkness descended, the Neophyte let the floodgates of rage flow out, allowing the Force to fuel his actions and push him past the pain. He had only one thought now. Make her pay. Abadeer jumped to his feet and launched into a rush of straight-on blows against his opponent.

He started with a powerful strike, stomp kicking her knee, causing Va'nia to crumple with a gasp; the darkness dissipating as Abadeer lost focus on it, his full concentration on his opponent now, and how he wanted her to suffer. He shot out with his elbow, aimed at her head, but she sensed it coming and barely dodged out of the way, her hands weakly helping to deflect the blow. Abadeer wasn't done yet though. He followed up by slamming his knee into her chest, and she fell backwards to the floor.

The Togruta stood over her, feeling triumphant. He knew from her weak block that if this was a contest of martial combat—no weapons, no access to the Force—he would demolish her. She didn't seem trained at all to take or throw a punch.

“You may think my single-minded determination a weakness. Something that holds me back as I pursue my prey,” Abadeer taunted, walking around her fallen form. “But if that is the case, I will train it to be my greatest strength.” Abadeer started for another stomping attack, straight for her tattooed face. The Kiffar raised her hand to him, appearing almost as a plea.

“Why don’t you hit something else?” At the back of the Togruta’s mind was a tickle that quickly became overwhelming. He hesitated for just a moment and missed his stomp. That moment of hesitation was all that Va'nia needed. She pushed out with both arms and Taasii flew across the room. He hit the wall hard, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Again, another Force wave hit him directly, crushing him against the durasteel. He couldn't breathe. The attacks were relentless.

Abadeer put his arms across his face, a pathetic attempt at defense against the onslaught. But as the woman approached, she pulled both his arms back with a gesture, leaving him open before slamming him with a final, powerful shockwave. The wounds, the rage, and the pounding had taken its toll. He was completely exhausted, and he could do nothing except slump to the ground and accept his punishment.

“When you find that this is your strength, then you come and find me,” said Va’nia, her voice dripping with hate. “Until that time, know your place. Know that a mere student cannot defeat the likes of me. I’ll let you think here on that awhile. Maybe your Master will be around to take you to the infirmary. Just like a child needs a parent.” She turned and walked out of the combat center. Abadeer knew he’d been beat. He would train himself though. Next time, he’d be ready