Outer Defense Perimeter,

House Acclivis Draco Headquarters,

Heimdall Mountain Range, Li Gandor Continent,

Antenora, Cocytus System,

Dark Brotherhood Territories

The Shi’ido stood there, observing his opponent. Slender and wiry, her features softened by distinct human female curves, she seemed to radiate speed and agility.

However, through the Force she radiated something else. Fear. Fear of being left behind, fear of not meeting the demanding standards that her Master and above all, herself, had set out before her. Her redeeming quality, of course, was a white-hot center of rage and aggression that would bode her well, if she could properly harness it.

He spoke first. “So, you are aware of why you are here?”

She nodded. “My Master asked me to spar with you, as to learn more of Soresu, the Way of the Mynock,” she completed, flatly.

He nodded. “Very well. Let us begin.”

With that, they both ignited their lightsabres, saluted each other, and began immediately. She apparently had decided that speed would be her best advantage, and she began a flurry of strikes, lunges, and quick jabs. Oddly enough, she didn’t seem to stick to any specific style, and indeed he saw a bit of Djem So and Shii-Cho in her movements, along with a whole lot of un-or half-trained techniques. Well, that would hurt her one day, he knew. Then again, that is why he was here today.

There was one thing, though. She was indeed fast. Soresu demanded precision with his blade, and he was precision itself. However, she was going so fast that he was starting to slip behind her. It was just a touch, but it was starting to get disconcerting. He immersed himself in the Force, and he saw her as she was in the Force as well, which was a white-hot flame.

That took the Dark Jedi Knight aback. He had been in combat situations, of course, but the times that he had seen someone riding the edge of their capabilities in handling the Force like that did not turn out well for either them or their target. The target was of course, devastated, but the wielder of the power was literally consumed by their anger, their white-hot rage burning them up. The shock of the moment caused him to falter just a bit, which allowed the Guardian to inflict a graze on his leg, causing him to reel back.

The Guardian gave him no respite, and the Knight knew that he had to break her concentration, or else she would kill him. That single-minded drive to attack would override anything else, so that left him with just one choice.

“I’m here to teach, to teach!” he murmured to himself, trying to convince himself of it. His spirit, however, screamed at him to kill his opponent. He focused, and let the Force guide his actions, suppressing the pain from his leg. A block, a counter, a whirl in, his elbow missing its’ target, but then his knee found purchase in her groin, causing a grunt and a distraction. A solid backhand slap sent her spinning about, her lightsabre going another way.

“Enough,” came the voice of command. “So, what say you?”

Although he was breathing heavier than he would have liked, he answered the question. “She still needs more focus, and she needs to watch how much power she pulls in, but the Force is strong with this one. She is becoming a dangerous weapon, sir.”

Epis Timbal nodded. “Thank you, Tra’an. You may go, I’ll take care of Asani here.”

The Knight nodded soberly, and departed. Timbal helped his Student get up, and offered her a stimulant, which she refused blackly. She still needed to learn how to lose, he thought to himself.

She made a face, then sighed. “Will I ever be ready, Master?”

He nodded firmly, “I know that the work that goes into getting your Knighthood is long and hard, but I’ll be here to help you. Not just me, but Tra’an and Kalak and all the others.” She nodded wearily, then departed.

With that, he turned. “Time to get that report to Phoenix….” he said, following the form of his Student into the darkness.

--

Greetings, brothers and sisters of HAD!

I hope you’ve enjoyed another little fiction that I put together. This time I got Tra’an into this one, and I hope I got his mental process in the fight right, and I hope it did him justice! That said, here we go!

Things to Cover (Clan / House Stuffs):

• Competitions: Dark Tides complete! Expect results soon! Also expect something coming up from the devious mind of Tra’an soon! ;)

• Get ready for the next GJW! I’m going to beat this one every report until it finally happens. ;)

• CSP Shadow Academy Course: Still waiting for the go-ahead by the Clan Summit.

• Royal Gazette: Not sure why it wasn’t released, but it should be soon. =)

• Welcome! A shout out to Santor for joining the House. If you see Santor on IRC, give ‘em a big welcome. In related news, Karean has really been working on his SA exams, and has been named as Koskian 'Psyko' d'Tana’s Student. Excellent!

Random Other Things:

• Decided not to get TFU. I’ll rent it instead. That just leaves more money for that Kahr Arms KP4543. ;)
  

Real Life Stuff:

More random stuff going on in my life!

• Work: I’ve been given a respite from my training duties this week, but next week is going to be a killer with about 400 people (If not more) to cycle through in a week. (!)

• My congrats goes out to any Washington Redskins fans out there! =)

Well, that's about it, peeps. Until next time!

KE Timbal

QUA guy

Random medals and stuffs go here.