Research (closed)

[Ishmel Rykov]

Ishmel squinted his sensitive eyes as his face was illuminated by the projected light of the console. The library was dark and empty but for the archives and the dimly lit area around Ishmel. Data pads were spread across the small desk beside him as he scrolled down the scripts. Pulling out one more empty data pad, he plugged it to the port and downloaded more information from the archives.

Teras Kasi was seemingly lost martial art nowadays. Some still claimed the knowledge of the superior fighting style but even fewer could accomplish that which they knew. The form had been scattered and lost to the stars after the Clone Wars and what little information had been recorded seemed to disappear with those who had taught it.

The Bunduki were a fading people in the sense of Teras Kasi and their strongest point in their culture had been before the Great Schism.

Ishmel wasn't too interested in history, not even caring what most of what it was about, Great Schism and all. He desired direct information on Teras Kasi, not how it came about but how it worked.

He'd found many things so far but still not enough. Comparing what he had to what the records said really existed, he'd made a small estimation that he had just spent fourteen hours finding only a good seventeen percent of what had once been Teras Kasi. The data pad beeped, indicating that it had finished downloading the information. His lip lifted in sneer as he jerked the plug out of the port.

"Wha' ignorance. A destructive force such as Teras Kasi goes to waste all because the peoples of the past are too frelling foolish to keep up with their things."

He shoveled all the data pads off the table and into a black bag before clicking the console off and exiting the library. He slowly made his way back to his small hole of a room and tossed the bag on the bed, reaching in and grabbing a random file. He didn't need any light for his sensitive eyes to read the file with the bare light given off the pad so he didn't bother with any lights.

[Ishmel Rykov]

Data File... Loading///

...[topic]...
...Teras Kasi...

...[title]...
...Recorded Biographies concerning Teras Kasi...

...[content]...
...1) Anoon Bondara
this Twi'lek Jedi Master was a contemporary of Qui-Gon Jinn, and was a master of the teras kasi martial arts. Master Bondara was also the teacher of Darsha Assant. When Darsha was ordered by the Jedi Council to retrieve Oolth the Fondorian from the Crimson Corridor of Coruscant, Master Bondara questioned the Council's objectives in sending the padawan into such dangerous territory. However, he was forced to let her go. When she returned many hours later, without Oolth and speaking of the Fondorian's death, Master Bondara tried to calm her down and asked her to retrace her steps, so that they could determine it Oolth had survived. Unfortunately, they found no trace of Oolth's body, and ended up in the crossfire of Darth Maul's attempt to execute Lorn Pavan. Hoping to buy Darsha and Lorn time to escape, Master Bondara attacked the Sith lord during a speeder chase. Hoping to catch Maul by surprise, Bondara leaped onto his speeder and attempted to disarm Maul. When that failed, Bondara realized that he had only one option. Bondara used his lightsaber to ignited the power cells of Maul's speeder, causing an explosion which took his life but, unfortunately, not Maul's.

...2) Bunduki
a race of beings which practice the martial art of teras kasi or "steel hands."

...3) Danva, Joclad
this Jedi Knight was a noted student of the teras Kasi martial artform. Danva was a regular participant in martial arts tournaments, until he was defeated on Bunduki by Phow Ji, just before the onset of the Clone Wars. Shortly afterward, Danva was part of the task force assembled by Mace Windu to travel to Geonosis and confront the Separatists. Danva was one of the handful of survivors of the the initial stages of the battle, and was captured and led into the execution arena just before the Army of the Republic arrived.

...4) Ee, Chaq-Quaj
this man was a noted expert in the martial art of teras kasi, during the years leading up to the Battle of Geonosis.

...5) Followers of Palawa
this group of hermits were highly revered on their homeworld of Bunduki. They were also masters of the martial art known as teras kasi.

...6) Ji, Phow
this man, a native of Bunduki and a member of the Followers of Palawa, was an expert in the martial art of teras kasi. Phow Ji won the tournament in Aslaja, just before the onset of the Clone Wars, defeating the Jedi Knight Joclad Danva in a 47-minute fight.

...7) Jodd
this being studied the art of teras kasi during the Galactic Civil War.

...8) Kashi Mer
an extinct culture that reached its height sometime before the formation of the Old Republic. Their civilization was based on the tenets of the Followers of Palawa, and many Kashi Mer had some control over The Force. They also practiced the martial art of teras kasi, refining it over the years into an almost religious form of combat. Through the use of teras kasi, many Kashi Mer were turned toward the Dark Side of the Force, leading up to the events of the First Great Schism. The Kashi Mer culture was wiped out when the primary star supporting the planet Kashi went supernova and destroyed the entire system.

...9) Lungrolph Isher
this Krish was a noted expert in the martial art of teras kasi, during the years leading up to the Battle of Geonosis.

...10) Lyn, Arden
this woman was a former teras kasi master and a member of the Followers of Palawa warriors who flocked to support the Kashi Mer exile, Xendor. During the First Great Schism, Arden Lyn was defeated in battle by the Jedi Master Awdrysta Pina, who used the mortichro technique to still Arden's heart. Her connection to the Dark Side of the Force kept her alive, and Arden Lyn eventually awoke, shortly after the Jedi Purge of Emperor Palpatine. She was captured as a Force-sensitive by High Inquisitor Tremayne, but injured him and killed Inquisitor Ameesa Darys in her escape. She was later captured again, this time by Inquisitor Torbin, who was forced to cut off her arm in the struggle. Torbin kept her alive, recognizing that she had some connection to the Dark Side of the Force, and brought her before Palpatine. She became one of the Emperor's Hands, and was summoned by Darth Vader to lead an assault team against the Alliance. Their goal was to defeat the leaders of the Alliance in one-on-one combat. In the wake of the Battle of Yavin, however, Arden Lyn defected from Imperial service and started training her own students. She even tried to help rogue Admiral Zaarin kidnap Palpatine, but Inquisitor Tremayne thwarted the attempt. Arden Lyn fled, hoping to locate an ancient Kashi Mer talisman which would bring her power enough to defeat the Empire.

...11) Mi, Celjo
this man was a noted expert in the martial art of teras kasi, during the years leading up to the Battle of Geonosis.

...12) Palawa Band
this was the highest ranking of teras kasi martial art combat, during the last decades of the Old Republic.

...13) Pike, Dux
this Epicanthrix fighter was skilled in the martial art of teras kasi, during the last decades of the Old Republic. Unfortunately for his wife and twin daughters, Dux Pike was killed just before the Clone Wars in a tournament on Bunduki. He was defeated by Phow Ji, who used a shenbit stonecrusher blow to eliminate Pike.

...14) Pike, Zan
twin sister of Zu Pike, Zan is distinguishable from her sister because she has two green eyes. Like her sister, she is completely amoral but has no criminal record. She is highly-skilled in the Bunduki art of teras kasi, and is available to the highest bidder. Prince Xizor secured her services in his hunt for Luke Skywalker. She was twenty-six standard years old at the time. Later, the sisters worked for Spinda Caveel, trying to recover the human replica droid Guri. However, as the stakes for recovering Guri grew, the sisters opted to get out while the getting was good.

...15) Pike, Zu
twin sister of Zan Pike, Zu is distinguishable from her sister because she has one green eye and one blue eye. Like her sister, she is completely amoral but has no criminal record. She is highly-skilled in the Bunduki art of teras kasi, and is available to the highest bidder. Prince Xizor secured her services in his hunt for Luke Skywalker. She was twenty-six standard years old at the time. Later, the sisters worked for Spinda Caveel, trying to recover the human replica droid Guri. However, as the stakes for recovering Guri grew, the sisters opted to get out while the getting was good.

...16) Slee, Beru
this woman was a noted expert in the martial art of teras kasi, during the years leading up to the Battle of Geonosis.

...17) Slyter, Talon
a native of the planet Draethos, this man was a noted expert in the martial art of teras kasi, during the years leading up to the Battle of Geonosis.

...18) Swan, Bultar
this woman was a noted Jedi Knight who trained under Micah Giett, until his untimely death. She then trained with Plo Koon, and was one of many who were involved in the galactic conflict which surrounded the Clone Wars. Bultar was respected among the Jedi of the day for her combat record. Despite being a veteran of many battles, Bultar had never taken an single life, even in self-defense. In combat, Bultar Swan used a unique combination of teras kasi and Verdanaian "sliding hands" techniques. Swan, along with Empatajayos Brand and Chellemi Chuovvick, was dispatched to the Sepan Sector to mediate the early conflicts of the Sepan Civil War, shortly before the onset of the Clone Wars.

...19) Xendor
this ancient Kashi Mer was exiled from his homeworld when he began using the teras kasi martial arts for evil by combining them with the Dark Side of the Force. As a Jedi and a Kashi Mer, Xendor developed a large following, often referred to as the Minions of Xendor, whose ranks included the warrior Arden Lyn. Xendor was killed by the Jedi Knights, shortly after the First Great Schism split the Jedi apart...

...[end of content]...

Ishmel spent the next hour or so writing down names and places, taking small notes and reviewing before going to the next data pad.

[Ishmel Rykov]

He flipped up the next one several hours later. Thankfully this one would be much smaller. But Ishmel still remembered how much of a pain it had been to find even this much. Before he even bothered to read it, he put a note on it, "VITAL."

Data File... Loading///

...[topic]...
...Teras Kasi...

...[title]...
...Locations concerning Teras Kasi...

...[content]...
...1) Aslaja
located on the planet Bunduki, this city was the home of the galaxy's most famous teras kasi martial arts tournament, during the years leading up to the Clone Wars.

...2) Bunduki
see Teras Kasi/Recorded Biographies of involved persons of Teras Kasi/Bunduki

...3) Kashi
see Teras Kasi/Recorded Biographies of involved person of Teras Kasi/Kashi Mer

...[end of content]...

Ishmel smiled, at least he had a good excuse to get off of this sarlacc pit for a while now. Taking more notes and making additions to his previous ones, he spen several hours before finishing and then turning in for what was left of the night, now early morning.

[Ishmel Rykov]

-- The room seemed to shift as if walking through mist, grey light focusing on the white haired child that held his knees to his chest. Somewhere far off two, maybe three voices could be heard shouting. Incomprehensible but loud enough that the boy covered his ears with his small hands. All three voices suddenly became shrieks as this roaring sound overcame them. Something like a laser being fired could be heard beneath the roar and three shadowed bodies fell from the nightlike ceiling of the room. One body clearly smelled of burnt flesh and another held a blaster pistol in its hand. The third was visible enough to tell it was a woman, her eyes tore out of her skull. The roar didn't stop and the boy say the three bodies and added his scream to the noise. The scream melded to the rushing torrent until they were the same.

Time seemed distorted as the grey mist flashed in its focus between the boy and the bodies. The boy ran to a window that had just appeared and outside he saw a black tornado, drawing everything into it. The grey mist focused on the tornado, the roar being produced from this. The focus went into the tornado where grey fire existed and blood and water seemed to be slung everywhere throughout it. The focus continued through the maelstrom until it came to the source.

The void... everything was being sucked into the void. The little boy was pulled from inside, hurled through the window and drawn into the grey chaos. He was washed in blood and water and his skin burnt in the fire. And he was pulled down, down to the void until he was inside the source.

And he could understand the roaring of the tornado as if it was a voice. All it said though was...

HATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHA TEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATE HATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHA TEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATE HATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHA TEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATE HATEHATEHATE!--

Ishmel shot up in bed. His eyes wide open as he looked down. Dark liquid was all over his white shirt. He put his hand to his nose and felt the blood; his other hand wiped the sheen of sweat from his forehead. He quickly got up and grabbed one of his dirty shirts, pressing it to his nose to stop the bleeding. He sighed after several minutes passed by and pulled the shirt off and away to toss it to the side. His nose had stopped bleeding and Rykov decided he was really hungry.

He made it to the servant's cafeteria and grabbed some bread and slices of meat before heading back up. Time to return to research.

[Ishmel Rykov]

Ishmel sat down as he took another bite from the loaf. He pulled it away from his mouth and inspected it with a grimace. Picking a few pieces of mold off before taking another bite, Ishmel held the small loaf in his mouth as he grabbed another data pad.

Data File... Loading///

...[topic]...
...Teras Kasi...

...[title]...
...Teras Kasi Basic Instructions...

...[content]...
...1) Riding Bantha
this position of the teras kasi martial artform provided the warrior with a wide stance which provided a solid base from which to move into other positions.

...2) Rancor Rising
this movement of the teras kasi martial artform brought a warrior from a squating position up into a standing position in a single, fluid motion.

...3) Grappling Wampa
this grappling style of teras kasi artform provided the warrior an effective hold in which to neutralize an opponent

...[end of content]...

The data pad gave a small holographic display of a humanoid figure as it ran through the actual look of each listed object. Ishmel watched each stance as well as he could. He knew that these were the basics, probably the easiest for him to learn.

He knew Teras Kasi was no joke and that this would probably be all he might be able to pull off until he got some outside teaching. His eyes closed as he tried to restrain his temper. Rykov hated to think he'd have to go through the trouble to hunt someone down and then have to most likely do something for them to teach him.

He picked up the next one. Ishmel had been nice enough to himself to put notes on the ones that had information in a certain order and this was the list of the next stances.

...[topic]...
...Teras Kasi...

...[title]...
...Teras Kasi Intermediate Instructions...

...[content]...
...1) Aryx Slash
this was one of the many attack postures practiced by the warriors who trained in the teras kasi martial arts.

...2) Charging Wampa
this was one of the many stances used in the teras kasi martial artform.

...3) Dancing Dragonsnake
this was one of the many stances used in the teras kasi martial artform.

...4) Forraderi
this stance, one of many positions used in the teras kasi martial artform, provided the warrior with a fluid position from which to move in any direction.

...5) Nexu Grin
this was one of the many attack postures practiced by the warriors who trained in the teras kasi martial arts.

...6) Slashing Wampa
this was one of the attack postures found within the teras kasi martial artform.

...7) Striking Sarlacc
this was one of the attack postures used by the teras kasi martial artform.

...8) Hunting Wookie
this was one of the attack postures used by the teras kasi martial artform.

...9) Dancing Twilek
this position of the teras kasi martial artform provided the warrior with a manueverable stance which provided fluid defense from which to evade and defend oncoming attacks.

...10) Dark/Light Shield
this series of hand movements combined the usage of force telekinisis to defend and deflect oncoming attacks.

...[end of content]...

The holographic images appeared again, Ishmel knew he had the time off for the moment so he continued to replay each one over and over. He eventually became impatient, the monotony of it finally settling in; Rykov picked up the last Instructional.

...[topic]...
...Teras Kasi...

...[title]...
...Teras Kasi Master Instructions...

...[content]...
...1) Shenbit Bonecrusher Blow
this was one of the many attack postures practiced by the warriors who trained in the teras kasi martial arts. If properly executed, this movement can be fatal to the target.

...2) Sleeping Sarlacc
this was one of the defensive postures used by the teras kasi martial artform to provide superior positioning for counterattacks.

...3) Staunch Gammorean
this position of teras kasi martial artform provided the warrior with a defensive stance in which a tremendous strike could not move the warrior.

...4) Death Weave
this series of attack moves was used by masters of the teras kasi martial artform.

...5) Mortichro Technique
this subtle technique is used to still an opponent's heart in one soft move combining Teras Kasi and the use of the Force.

...[end of content]...

Ishmel again watched the holographic images, these much more interesting but still easily going stale. The minute shifts in the holograph of the humanoid meant a lot of things went into the moves that Rykov couldn't possibly understand right now so he left that at that.

That was most of what he had found so far. Records told him that he had no where close to all of it and that left Rykov sore with hate that he didn't have it all. He had three other datapads on Bunduki culture and customs, only because Teras Kasi training was well integrated into their everyday lives. He perused over them as he finished the food.

Teras Kasi, Ishmel thought to himself, better be worth it.