The Search Begins

[Morino Ryu]

(OOC: I'm searching for Jubei SaDherat Vader. I'd prefer it if this was closed.... but if anyone has a really good reason for being involved, then they're welcome to it I guess.)

Searching.... that was my purpose this day. Searching for a special person.... I keep my dark colored cloak's hood pulled over my head, not wanting to attract attention. I was sent for one purpose, and one purpose only, an urgent matter that required me to find Jubei SaDherat Vader.

I send my thoughts out, using the Force to try to find something.... anything that would help my journey find its end.

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

(It was an odd sensation. Stretching out with his feelings, Jubei almost thought he heard his own name, as he stretched his conciousness outward in his meditation. Concentrating fully, he extended his senses again...with the same effect.

This caused the monk to open his eyes.

Somebody was looking for him.

Standing up, Jubei straightened his robes, and glancing to the horizon.

Fate would unveil the questions in his heart soon enough.)

[Morino Ryu]

I suddenly find something.... out at the edge of my awareness..... he was close..... my senses had served me well.

I call out to him through the Force, hoping for confirmation as I see a figure on the horizon.

Are you the one that I seek?... Are you Jubei SaDherat Vader? The first task set before me this day was to find you.... I hope that I am not mistaken...

I continue walking toward the figure and stop, approximately 15 yards away and bow deeply to him out of respect, patiently awaiting his response.

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

(Jubei approached the man, returning the courteous bow in respect.)

You search for and have found me.

I believe you have me at a disadvantage, good soul. Have we met before?

(Stretching out with his feelings, Jubei could draw no conclusions to his question from the man. Through accident or purpose, he kept himself guarded.)

[Morino Ryu]

I bow again to him.

"My apologies good sir... I meant no disrespect by keeping my name a secret. My name is Morino Ryu, and my first task was to find you.... though we have never met before."

"If you would not mind my asking.... do you have knowledge of a Lady Dalethria Mal Pannis?...."

I search his face, and emotions, looking for some sort of sign.

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

(Dalethria Mal Pannis. Jubei's brow creased as he thought about the name. He knew of her, although he had never truly met the woman. She was of the sect of Force users known as the Sith....beings who had sought selfish satisfaction through their study of the force. Often hasty and careless, their actions had perpetuated more than a few violent confrontations. Silently, Jubei had often said many prayers on their behalf, that wisdom and discretion would be bestowed upon them.

Breaking from his thoughts, Jubei nodded.)

I know of her, yes.

[Morino Ryu]

I can feel some of the thoughts that were moving through Jubei's mind... they were.... interesting to say the least. Wisdom and discretion..... they were not concepts that were foreign to me....

I pull back the dark hood of my cloak, revealing my face, not wanting to be a veil between the two of us. Bright blue eyes set in calm, layed back features, with raven black straight hair, that was almost shoulder length.

I bow to him again.

"I am honored that you know of Lady Dalethria. For.... she is my Mistress. She bade me to seek you out, and once found, I am to challenge you to honorable combat...."

"I do not wish this to be personal.... unless you are the one to make it such. I have been given a task by my Mistress, and it is my goal to complete it."

I watch Jubei carefully, looking for a reaction, as my other, not so apparent senses look into his soul... wondering how he would react to such an open admittance of purpose....

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

(Jubei's eyes lowered)

I find nothing honorable in the act of combat. It is the collision of souls, the destruction of harmony, and a fruitless end to the lives of good souls. Violence has always been a poor substitute to a hearing heart and a soft word.

(He focused on Ryu)

If your mistress commands it, then you must go to her now and let her know that I refuse.

[Morino Ryu]

I breath out slowly and close my eyes, thinking for a moment and then opening them again as I look at Jubei and speak in an even tone, not filled with anger, but an unshakable resolve.

"That is not possible. There is no other possible outcome to this confrontation. Our paths must cross. The only way that I can honor my Mistress is to battle you.... Not all battles must end in death. You may think of it as a test.... for that is what it is for myself. Conflict is necessary, for it gives a purpose to the people of the universe. It gives them a reason to continue, to fight for what they believe in. It allows them to stand up for what they believe in. It shows that they matter, and that their voice is not lost amongst a multitude of billions...."

"Now, my resolve is unshakable in this endevor. I will not leave until I complete my task. I will bring honor to my Mistress. There is no other option."

I look at Jubei, with eyes that showed not anger, but a sense of purpose, of necessity, showing that this had to be done.

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

(Jubei looked skyward, his hand tracing down to a set of wooden beads he wore around his neck)

You speak so eloquently in order that words should mean nothing at all. If you believe in something passionately....do that thing, but don't set yourself upon destruction simply because you disagree.

I pray. I pray for conflict's resolution....for the safety of myself.


But moreso the safety of you, my friend.

(Jubei looked forward into Ryu's eyes)

If you must lash out...better at myself than at another. Consequence will echo your actions in due succession.

[Morino Ryu]

"Do not make this difficult. Honor to my Mistress comes before anything else. Whether you oppose this or not, it does not matter. This meeting will end in a battle."

"For the glory and honor of Lady Dalethria Mal Pannis of the Sith Empire, I Morino Ryu, her apprentice, and Sith Disciple challenge you to combat, whether you view it to be honorable or not."

"Giving honor to my Mistress comes before anything else in my life, and battling you is the only way that I can honor her, for now...."

I calmy take out my lightsaber "Keryvian" and activate it as a sky blue blade elongates itself.

I mearly stand there.... sabre in hand, waiting to see what he would do.

"Do not make me attack you while you are unarmed...."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

"...ile you are unarmed..."

(In the time elapsed to utter those words, Jubei flowed into symphony of graceful motion, left hand reaching to the long white cloth belt at his waist, and pulling with one deft action. The belt unraveled to its full length of 12 meters, bringing the two-pound durasteel weighted projectile that it was tied to into action. The weight snapped painfully across the back of Ryu's saber hand, causing his grip to open in a reaction of the nerves.

Jubei was already spinning towards Ryu upon the meteor hammer's recoiling action, drawing the cloth belt once more around his waist. Stabbing his left foot forward as he halted in front of the Sith, the Calanic monk caught the falling saber's hilt by the toe, kicking the weapon over his head and 15 meters behind him.)

There. Now we can both be unarmed, and draw about painless conclusion.

[Morino Ryu]

"I think NOT!"

I draw on the Darkside, letting the anger strengthen me, draping it around myself as one would a cloak.....

My left hand moves with a Darkside assisted quickness as it reaches to my belt and draws out "Shar's Kiss" my other sabre... a midnight black blade elongates itself as I swing viciously at Jubei, hoping that the unpredictability and incredible swiftness of the attack would catch him off guard, and injure him, at least drawing first blood....

"I will not return until you have been defeated. There is no other way..."

I let the anger aid me as I lash out at him with a Force Blast, fueled by the Darkside...

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

(The sudden attack put Jubei on a quick retreat, the saber's blade searing through a fold of the monk's robes. With his weight shifted backward, he was in no position to bear the brunt of Ryu's dark blast. The attack sent him careening backwards. Struggling in the chaos, and reaching out with the force to calm his anguished nerve endings, Jubei righted himself, tumbling head over heels as he dug a hand into the soil, slowing his backwards motion. In a fluid motion, he snapped his body's center of gravity upward, springing back to his feet. Letting a sigh out from his lips, Jubei wiped a bead of sweat from his brow)

[Morino Ryu]

"Now.... you will not surprise me with that same trick again.... prepare yourself, or I shall attack anyway!"

I make a swift, sweeping motion with my hand, forcing my other sabre to return to me.

"Now.... it begins...."

I let the Darkside flow, making me focus on the battle, making my sabers become extensions of my arms as I swing in, high and low at the same time, always on the move, circling him as my sabers come in at different angles, never giving him any extra time to react...

"You will be defeated.... and honor will come to my mistress.... there is no other way...."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

(Jubei draws upon his teachings, allowing peaceful connection to the living force to fill himself, and ready himself for conflict. With a quick and furtive hand gesture, the Padawan closes his eyes. A spark seems to grow from his fingertips, rapidly expanding to a white-hot flash. Force Blinding.

The searing light strikes Ryu's retinas, sending residual shadows of visual shock into his brain. For a moment, he cannot see. Jubei advances quickly, seeing a half-second gap in the Sith's guard.

Morino feels the lightest of touches against his face...and is thrown to the ground, fifteen meters back. When his vision returns to him, he sees Jubei in a prone stance, the back of his right palm facing him from where his force-augmented dragon strike had sent the Sith airborne.)

[Morino Ryu]

I shake my head as I am suddenly blinded, but that wasn't the least of my worries.... I'm suddenly launched airborn. As I fall back to the ground, I use the Darkside to slow my fall and place me back on my own two feet.

I look at Jubei and nod my head.

"Impressive...."

I start sprinting toward him, a controlled run, not some sort of chaotic charge.

I then start slashing at him with my sabers, always moving, always circling him, searching for a weakness in his defenses. High strikes and low strikes swing in with perfect harmony as I use the Darkside to make my swings stronger, faster, extensions of my arms

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

(Jubei bends like a reed in the wind, his body a symphony of fluid motion as he parries and dodges Ryu's double-saber attacks. With no saber of his own, the padawan, must rely on the dexterity of his motion to avoid the Sith's attacks and uncover a weakness.

However, Jubei knows he cannot keep dodging forever.)

[Morino Ryu]

My hands work in perfect harmony with each other.... my naturally born ambidexterity made it seem as if Jubei was being attacked by two different opponents at the same time.

I speed my attacks up even farther, becoming a blur of motion as I continually press the attack. I knew that he couldn't last forever... One of the things that I had learned was that the last man standing usually won, surprisingly enough.

So I had devoted much of my time to building my endurance to almost inhuman levels. That, along with the anger serving me, making me stronger... and faster, I knew that it would come to an end soon if I continued to press the attack.

And so... I did, my body moving just as fluidly, just as harmoniously as Jubei, like opposite sides of the same coin. We both fought for what we believed in, in our own particular way, and there was nothing that could sway us from our path......

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

(Jubei's agility was put to the test as the Sith attacked with dual sabers. Himself unarmed, the Padawan moved with the poetic grace of his upbringing, parrying, dodging, and distancing...looking for a mistake to capitalize on.

Morino drove onward, and Jubei lost much ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Jubei spotted a large tree, and began to fall back in its general direction. The Sith continued to advance on him, keeping the pressure on. However, Jubei quickly spun on his axis as they reached the tree, running up its trunk, and springing off, using its leverage to twist his body over Morino's slicing sabers, dropping a heel kick into the base of the Sith's neck, sending him careening head-first into the tree trunk.

Jubei landed on both feet gracefully, his breathing rate increasing slightly from his constant defensive maneuvering)