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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2466379" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 259: Together as OneThere was an energy in the observation chamber (Or maybe it was the main bridge...) of the ship that neither Shadow nor Jyren had ever felt before. It was not the first time the two of them had fought together, and, hopefully, it wouldn’t be the last. But something about the situation was just so much different than anything else they had experienced. The only thing close to it that Jyren could find was back on Nar Shadaa...killing Voort.  But Shadow hadn’t been involved in that at all. And Ket was not Titus Voort...Ket had never been someone that Jyren had ever trusted his life to, and truthfully, neither had Shadow.    Through the link and through the Force, Shadow and Jyren coordinated every step and every motion. Jyren went in first, lightsaber raised high and slashing down at Ket’s head. Ket pivoted back and out of the way, turning his back to Jyren again and bringing his blade around to deflect a strike from Shadow meant to skewer him. Quickly, Ket released a hand from his sword and lashed out with a swipe at Shadow, which she ducked under just before twisting out of the way of a vicious stab from Ket’s sword.    But with a blinding and amazing speed, the sword pulled back and wrapped around to parry a swing from Jyren that was aimed at Ket’s side. And again, Ket’s free hand was moving, this time to parry Shadow’s wrist, forcing back her swing of her violet coloured blade just long enough for Ket to spin around and slice at her neck. With a warning screaming at her through both the Force and the link, Shadow twisted her arm around to invert her lightsaber and bring the blade in position to catch Ket’s strike at the last second.    Jyren attempted to take advantage of Ket’s focus on Shadow(again), but before he was able to get anywhere near an attack, the other Alraxian’s leg lashed out and a foot caught Jyren dead center in the chest. It hit him hard enough that it sent Jyren onto his tail. There was a crack, a yelp, and a surge of surprise through the link that caused Shadow to lose concentration for a half second. Her strength holding back Ket’s blade wavered, and when his blade once again began pushing to her neck(now forcing her lightsaber down first), she decided a change in tactics was necessary.    Thumbing the deactivation switch on her lightsaber, Ket’s blade no longer had any resistance, and so arced in like a lightning bolt to Shadow’s neck. But she wasn’t standing still. Using the Force to speed up her reflexes even more, Shadow dropped to the deck plates, sending Ket’s sword over her head and only taking some of her hair instead of her entire head. But it didn’t only cut hairs...the force with which Ket was using was released so quickly that the swing went too far and the blade dug into the nearby wall, showering everything nearby in sparks.    An alarm went off in both the room and in Ket’s mind as he attempted to yank the blade out of the wall. Not hesitating, he instead let go of the sword’s hilt and spun back from it, leaving nothing but the wall to take Jyren’s lightsaber swing. More sparks flew, and at least two loud pops caught all of their attention(at a subconscious level, at least). But Jyren was still going. He swung his lightsaber at Ket’s head, but instead of ducking under it as Jyren was prepared for, Ket took full advantage of the high ceiling and leapt over. He landed behind Jyren, facing the other direction and right in front of his sword again.    Withdrawing the metal blade from the wall, Ket twisted around and swung the weapon down at Jyren’s undefended back. But a violet lightsaber blade got between them. Shadow held his sword there for a moment before forcing Ket’s sword back and then giving him a good kick to the stomach. Ket stumbled back just long enough for Jyren to pull around and stand next to Shadow.    There was a pause in the fighting, then. Ket took a couple steps back and eyed the two of them, his now-chipped metal sword held up in front of him. Jyren and Shadow held similar stances, different coloured lightsabers bathing the both of them in multicoloured light. And then there was another loud pop from the wall that now had a metal gash and a lightsaber burn in it. The pop turned into a crack, then there was a bright flash. All three reacted by stepping back from the blinding light and shielding their faces.    When the flash had faded...so had the lights in the room, though a couple of the viewport-consoles were still active and provided a soft glow next to them. The violet and blue-green lightsabers were the only real source of light anymore, and it provided an odd mix when the two colours clashed. Thankfully, Ket was just as easy to spot thanks to how his metal sword caught the light from the two lightsabers.    The break in the fight ended just as abruptly and randomly as it had came into life. A sizzling sound from the destroyed wall panel echoed at the same time Ket’s two strong footsteps did. Jyren parried the quick strike at his torso, batting Ket’s blade out of the way and off to the side to leave the Alraxian’s torso wide open. For Ket, though, that seemed to mean very little. Shadow swung her own blade in to the open target, attempting to cut Ket from right shoulder to left hip. But despite the odd position of his arm, Ket sidestepped the strike and then spun around to Shadow’s opposite side, a free hand lashing out at her face.    Shadow didn’t have time to react, and there was a loud crack when Ket’s fist impacted with her face. A foot fell back to stop herself from losing any ground, now working with Jyren and attempting to pin Ket against the wall. Limit his movement and he wouldn’t be able to keep up his defense for much longer. Jyren felt this through the link and quickly repositioned himself to try to box Ket in, at the same time swinging in at Ket’s knee to distract him.    Ket’s attention was on Shadow’s violet blade, though, and brought his sword up to parry her swing at his upper body. He simply pulled up his leg to dodge Jyren’s swing, then twisted to the side(and back close enough to the wall that he wouldn’t be able to do that again) so that Jyren’s upswing also caught only the empty air. And so they tried it again, this time switching so that Shadow provided the distraction on Ket’s opposite side...a predictable tactic, but something that could very well work. This time, though, Ket proved just how aware of his surroundings he really was. Instead of using the same defense he had before, he pulled the Force around him and then let it loose at the two others before their weapons got close.    The wave hit them hard, sending them back to the opposite side of the room and sliding into the wall. They were both up on their feet in a second, neither of them landing on their tails to cause the extra downtime.  Ket had moved away from his position against the wall, but hadn’t charged into them either. A warning in the Force shot through both of their minds, but it was Shadow who’s reflexes were fast enough.    “Move!” she yelled without even realizing it, and jumped into Jyren to push him to the side. The door had been wrenched out of its place by the Force and Ket had sent it flying at them. Both of them felt the rush of air as it narrowly missed their feet, and before they were even on the ground Shadow was looking over to where Ket...wasn’t.    She pulled herself off of Jyren and then yanked him to his feet a little too roughly, “Come on!”    Jyren nodded without making one of his usual comments and followed her into the corridor where Ket was waiting...</blockquote>

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