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Chapter Fifty Eight His
hands covered in thin strips of binding material, wearing a pair of
loose-fitting, fighting pants and a tank shirt, Jae-Lee Reklaw prepares to go to
battle the only way he knows how, standing in the center of the room, his eyes
closed, and talking himself through every move and counter move he can think of,
mimicking the motions in the air. So intent is he in his concentration, that he
does not notice the presence of another in the room. The
slender figure of a young woman walks cautiously around Jae, as he continues his
near meditative rehearsal of his fighting moves. As she reaches his back, she
carefully touches the back of his neck, at the base of the still reddened scar,
and Jae nearly jumps straight out of his skin at the touch. “WHAT
THE_??!!!!!” Turning around to find Xana standing there giggling at his
surprised expression, he suddenly puts a hand to his chest, “Great Gundarks,
Xana! You nearly killed me…” He takes a few very deep breaths before
continuing, “But… At least now I’m not so tense… So I guess I should
thank you, huh?” He moves in closer to her. “I
would certainly hope so.” She says coyly as he leans down to place a gentle
kiss upon her lips. “Now that is the kind of greeting I was hoping for.” Jae
gets that lopsided grin on his face and says, “Well, I’ll just have to
remember that for future reference,” and he winks at her. “So,
are you ready for your Trials, today?” She asks, already knowing that he is
terribly nervous. Jae
exhales sharply, “I wish I knew. This whole thing has happened so quickly, I
haven’t even had time to really think about what it was I was doing until I
got in here this morning.” He picks her up by the waist and sits her down on
the table behind her. She gracefully crosses her legs, and adjusts her dress as
she comes to rest on the tabletop. “It wasn’t until they were strapping up
my hands that I really thought about what I was doing.” Xana
pushes back a stray lock of hair from her face as she speaks, “And what did
you think about it then?” “I
realized that my whole life would be decided by what happens here today…”
Jae leans back against the counter behind him as he speaks, “Last night, at
the Gathering, I realized that what I had been searching for since I lost my
father, was right here, waiting for me… Waiting for me to see what was right
there in front of me for so long.” Xana
looks a little puzzled by his words, and tries to clarify what he is saying by
asking, “What do you mean, Jae?” “Hearing
those people talk, and everyone I have heard since we arrived here.
In one way or another, I’ve heard all those things before… From my
father… My father had to have been here at one time, or at least trained with
someone else who had.” The excitement in Jae’s voice is palpable to Xana. “How
can you be so certain?” Jae
gestures his arms in a manner to show that he is encompassing everything around
him, “It’s everywhere, Xana! The words I hear, the sounds from every room in
this place, the scent, the emotions, the people. I feel almost like I can sense
my father in everything here, and I think its because he was one of these people
before I was born.” “I
can only hope that these things are true, Jae.” She says, not sure if she can
allow herself to believe them, but still hoping that his truth is real. “Do
you think this is something you are going to pursue, then?” Jae
looks almost shocked at her question. Getting up from the counter and walking
towards her, placing his hands upon her shoulders, “Xana, this is where I was
meant to be, my whole life… I can feel it now.” Turning
her face up to meet his, as he once again leans in for another kiss, Xana
surrenders to the idea that she and Jae might be able to share a future. They
kiss, and this time it is much more than a tender expression. The passion
passing between the two is noticed by another visitor to the room. “Hey!
Do you guys think you can come up for air, at least for a moment or two?”
Meesahran joking asks of her friends, and the two nearly jump away from each
other from the shock of her arrival. “Mees!
Did anybody ever tell you, you got lousy timing?!” Jae shakes a fist at her as
she lets herself into the room. “Nah,
they just complain when I interrupt their pleasure with business… Which I am
about to do once more.” She says as she winks at Xana, who is now seven shades
of red from her embarrassment. “What
business could you possibly have with me today? Don’t you know I’m about to
get my head bashed in by your uncle?” Jae says in a mocking tone, but the
reality of it not so much of a joke to him as he thinks about his pending doom. “Well,
I thought I might give you a couple pointers, since you’ve only ever seem,
Uncle Bowen fight once… But…. If you’re not interested, then I can
just-…” She turns to walk back out but is stopped half way. “Hold
Up!… What pointers?” Xana
just starts laughing and hops down from the table she was placed on, “You two
certainly put on quite a show, but I really need to get back to my family.”
Reaching the door, she turns back around to look at Jae, “I’ll be sending
lots of good thoughts your way from the observation deck. Safe journey to
you.” And then she exits the room, leaving to two old friends to talk. Jae
lingers a few moments, as he continues gaze out at the space Xana has just left,
and then turns to Meesahran, “What observation deck?” Meesahran
lets out a tremendous shout of laughter, “Oh brother! You didn’t notice that
large window in the gymnasium before? Where all those people were watching, and
where we bowed when we were done?” She gives him a little shove as she tried
to jog his memory. “You
mean I’m using THAT gymnasium?” He slaps his forehead with his realization. “How
many gymnasiums do you think we got here, fodder for brains?” She nudges him
with her elbow, in that same familiar manner Jae can recall from their youth,
and it calms him a bit. “Anyway, I just wanted to warn you… Keep you low
guard up.” Jae
gives her a puzzled expression, “Huh?” “”When
you fight, you leave yourself open to low strikes, and Uncle Bowen is famous for
taking people out at the leg…” She thinks about it some more, “Actually,
he does a pretty fair job at torso shots, too… And head shots… Maybe you
should just run a lot.” He turns to face her, and sees that she is smiling
that devilish smile of her, and when she gives him a wink, he realizes that she
is just trying to goad him on. “Thanks,
Mees, but really, what should I look out for?” Bringing
her hand up to scratch her chin, she thinks about it a moment, “Hmmmm,
everything would be a good idea.” “Cut
it out, Mees!” She
chuckles again and he starts to relax a bit, but then she continues,
“Honestly, you need to watch out for him. He’s worse than a Corellsi
street brawler, and he’ll go for any perceived weakness he can. Just keep your
mind clear of everything else, and focus on the task at hand, and you should do
fine.” Jae
takes a very deep breath and slowly blows it out through his pursed lips.
“I’m really starting to get a bad feeling about this, Mees. Am I really up
to this thing?” Mees
puts a reassuring hand upon his forearm, “If you weren’t, Master Mussiri
would never have suggested it… Believe me.” Turning to see the sincerity in
her eyes, Jae finally does believe it. “Okay,
then I guess I better finish getting ready… Are you gonna stick around,
too?” Meesahran
begins walking to the door, but turns around to answer him, “Are you kidding?
Who do you think sponsored this little test?” Jae looks at her with total
shock, “Do you think Master Bowen Dracul tests every new initiate?” Jae
suddenly begins to feel a small amount of pride welling up in his chest, but
before he can give Meesahran his gratitude for her faith in him, she is gone.
“Man, I hate it when she does that.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The
comm station on his desk begins to flash incessantly, and so Meklin Suul pushes
the activation button, “Yes, what is it this time?” “Sir,
you asked to be advised when the Asimuse’s Fury
broke atmosphere on an outbound route?”
The voice on the other end questions. “Yes…”
Meklin waits rather impatiently for the security officer’s reply. ”Sir,
it broke atmosphere twenty units ago, and only moments ago went to lightspeed on
a heading which would place it enroute to the Chandrillan Sector… Sir.” Meklin
waits a moment before answering, “Very well.” And he ends the transmission. Sitting
back in his oversized chair, Meklin ponders this newest development. “Well, it
would seem that our black hearted nobles have grown anxious… It won’t be
long now…” He brings his arms over his head, interlocking his fingers as he
places his hands behind his head, “Not long at all.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seated,
atop the table, legs dangling in the air, palms firmly planted on the edge of
the table, eyes closed and head lowered, Jae focuses all of his energy into one
little spot deep within himself. As the energy swirls into a powerful vortex,
deep within his center, Jae can feel the warmth from the center begin to radiate
throughout his body, and that energy allows him to sense everything around him
with a more attuned soul. Slowly he begins to draw deeper breaths into his
lungs, until finally he raises his head and opens his eyes, and there before him
stands the long, gray haired man with the long mustachio. Jae composes himself
and then greets the man, “Master Mussiri, how long have you been standing
there?” “Long
enough, young one, long enough…” He strokes his mustachio a bit with his
right hand, “You are quite gifted at finding your center, young one… Was
that another of your father’s lesson’s?” Jae
thinks a moment, furrows his brow with contemplation and then answers, “I
don’t think so…” He considers his answer a bit more before continuing,
“For some reason, I think it was my mother, but I’m not sure why I think
that… Just a feeling really, an image.” The
Master bows his head in what Jae takes as understanding, and then the man speaks
once more, “Well, young one… Are you ready for the trial?” Jae
feels a slight twinge in his back, but he knows it is only nerves, so he answers
the man honestly, “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” And he jumps from off
of the table onto the floor. “Are you really sure I should be doing this now,
Master Mussiri?” The
old man simply nods his head, “Of course.” And then he turns out of the room
and begins to walk down a short corridor. Jae
immediately follows the man struggles to maintain his calm. As they reach the
closed portal, the old man turns back to Jae, “Now, Master Dracul shall
instruct you as to the nature of the trial, and you must pay careful attention
to those instructions, for they are all you shall receive. After the trial
begins, Master Dracul’s sole purpose is to bring you into submission, and he
does not fail in his tasks, young one.” Master
Mussiri’s tone is all Jae needs to know the man is direly serious, and so he
solemnly nods his understanding. The
Master opens the portal and they are bathed in the light, as they step through
and into the gymnasium and out of anything that Jae could have ever considered
his youth. Today, no matter the outcome, he will truly have come of age. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Master
Falion steps out into the gymnasium floor and bows to Master Dracul before he
begins to speak. “Master Dracul, I present to you this initiate for trial.
Test him well, that he may someday stand at our sides as an equal.” Jae
notices that Master Dracul is now bowing to Master Mussiri, and he gathers this
is some kind of formal start to the trial that he was not made aware of before
now. And that is when Master Dracul begins to speak, “I am honored by your
trust in me to properly exam the initiate you have sponsored, Master Mussiri. I
shall test him thoroughly, and give careful judgment on his worth in this
hallowed place.” Hearing those words has somehow made this whole experience
mean that much more to Jae right now. And as he tries to reconcile their meaning
in his heart, he watches Master Mussiri exit the gymnasium. He then watches
Master Dracul bow to the people on the observation deck above and he mimics the
Master’s homage to those present. Master
Bowen Dracul then turns to Jae and takes in his right hand Jae’s right hand,
and with his left hand he places it firmly on Jae’s right shoulder. “Now,
comes the hard part, nerf. Okay, what we’re gonna do is, run through this
little obstacle course along the perimeter of the gym, and then we’re gonna
square off in the center.” Jae follows along Master Dracul’s description
with his eyes, and when he gets to the end, he notices two large rods, about the
size of lightsabers. “We
don’t use the real deal here?” He says with a small amount of disappointment
in his voice. Master
Dracul shakes his head, “Nah, if we used the real on regular initiates, we
wouldn’t have very many who lived, let alone passed this trial.” Master
Dracul adds a wink to his comment and the humor eases Jae’s tension a bit. Jae
looks again at the perimeter of the gymnasium, “So, what’s so hard about
this run?” Master
Dracul gets a devilish glimmer in his eyes, “Did I forget to mention that I
will be chasing you, and doing everything in my power to keep you from reaching
the sparing area?” A
sudden and very large lump begins to form in Jae’s throat as he hears the
words come from Master Dracul’s lips. Swallowing hard, he tries to voice a
reply, “So… When do we get started?” The
larger man releases his grip on Jae and takes a few careful steps back. First he
looks down to the floor, taking a deep, cleansing breath before bringing his
head back up with his eyes closed, and then in an instant his eyes pop open and
he shouts at the top of bellowing lungs, “NOW!!!!” Jae
thought for certain that the man’s outburst would have frozen him in his
tracks, but instead Jae immediately darts from the man’s encompassing grasp in
just the nick of time. Soon he finds himself hurtling over the racks of training
gear to his right, leaping and bounding over each as he struggles to stay a
hands’ breadth away from Master Dracul, who is now barreling after him at an
exponential rate. Reaching
a large wall, meant to be scaled with the proper equipment, Jae finds he cannot
get around it and instead makes a desperate decision to make it over the wall
unaided. He girds himself up to vault the towering structure, and as he ascends
its height, Jae misses his mark by only a hair, and must grasp the wall with his
bare hands to keep from falling back into the hands of his pursuer. Scrambling
up the rest of the wall, Jae is able to hurl himself over the top, only to find
Master Dracul in close pursuit. When his feet hit the floor, Jae crouches down
into a roll and gets himself out of range of the Master once more. This
time Jae finds himself barred by a series intersecting ropes, going in various
directions, elevations and angles. To him it looks like a giant web, spun by
some deranged arachnid, but it also looks like a challenge to his agility; one
that he may not succeed in conquering. With
the big man, breathing down his back, Jae dives into the mass of intertwined
ropes. First, finding a hole in the netting, then finding himself surrounded by
an almost impassable series of intricate twists and knots. He rolls to one side,
narrowly missing the heavy-handed fists of his predator, then he slides under
another mass of ropes hoping to gain some ground between him and his much larger
opponent. His size is an advantage in this particular obstacle, but Jae also
knows that relying on that could end this little test a lot quicker than he
would like at this point. Finding
his way nearly through the conglomeration of ropes, Jae must wrench his body
around another bundle of knots and twists. He can feel just how close Master
Dracul is to catching him at this moment, and he knows he must prepare for the
next obstacle, if he expects to beat the man to the sparring area. Reaching out
with his limited senses Jae can perceive his next task; a mound of dowels. Breeching
the ropes, Jae finds himself at the base of a large mound of dowels between
himself and the next task. In a split second, and just before Master Dracul
emerges from the ropes, Jae comes to an awareness of what his next move must be.
Crouching down as close to the floor as he can get, Jae springs from his feet
and begins to soar through the air and when he reaches the apex of the mound, he
finds his chest scraping across the dowels, and that is when Jae tucks his head
down and he begins to ride the wave of dowels down to the other side of the
gymnasium. Upon reaching the decking, he tucks himself into a controlled tumble
and rolls out onto his feet in crouching stance. Looking
back for just a moment, he catches sight of Master Bowen atop the now reduced
mound of dowels. A glint of pride in his eyes, Jae turns to forward to plan his
next move, when he sees that only a single obstacle stands between him and the
sparring area; another series of gear racks. Jae takes to his feet and pumps his
legs so that his speed alone could carry him over this last obstacle. As
he rounds the edge of the racks, he gets a brief flash of emptiness in his mind,
and that is when he realizes his mistake. Bounding with all that he has, Jae
tries to make it over the massive opening the gymnasium floor below him, but he
is not able to clear the hole entirely. Slamming into the side of the opening,
Jae grasps at the edge with one hand as he scrambles to not fall into the dark
hole. Just
as his hand is losing its grip, Jae can hear the other man closing in, the
breathing from his barrel chest resonating in Jae’s ears. Jae fights to keep
his grip, sweat pouring from every inch of his body, and all he can think of how
he got here. “FOCUS,
BOY! When will you learn? It is only within yourself that you can find that
focus. Look there, to the center, when you think there is nowhere else to look.” Jae
takes a deep, girding breath, and does just as his memory reminds him to do, and
looks within himself, when he suddenly feels that calm warmth spread throughout
his body, Jae is able to pull himself straight up out of that hole, in the same
instant that Master Dracul leaps across the expanse to land just beside him. The
only thing Jae has left to do is reach that sparring area just on the other side
of the racks before him. An impish grin spreads across his face as dodges around
the first rack just out of Master Dracul’s reach. The second rack he scrambles
over and the third he tips back into the second, hoping to slow down the Master
in the process. The fourth rack he is able to hurdle over with a single stride,
but Master Dracul is still just barely out of reach. Placing all of his strength
into making to the center of that sparring area and catching the first rod in
his hands, Jae takes off like a Corellian Sand Panther in for the kill. And just
as Master Bowen Dracul is about to throw his titanic arms around Jae and plunge
him into the floor, Jae ducks down to the ground and slides to a perfect stop
swinging around one of the rods in his tight grasp. In barely an instant, Jae is
standing at the ready position and Master Dracul is at his side, his rod
crashing down into Jae’s with a numbing power vibrating through the carbon
dowel. “And now the fun begins, boy.” Standing
firm, his arms carrying the tremulous force of the larger man’s swing, Jae
steels his resolve to see this task to its end. The mischievous sneer that curls
along Master Dracul’s lip worries Jae just a bit, but he knows that there is
no turning back now. Hoping that the Master will make the first move, Jae
struggles to hold his blade in the locked position, but soon the muscles in his
arms begin to quiver from the strain. As
a trickle of sweat rolls down the side of Jae’s face, he gets a sense the big
man is about to make his move, and in an instant finds the man spinning his body
away while holding the locked blades until his arms are whiplashed away from the
ready position and bringing his blade to make contact with Jae’s back. With
barely a moment to spare Jae rolls under the blade and feel the wind as it
passes over his head. Jae
scrambles out of his roll and struggles to reach his feet before Master Dracul
can mount his next attack, but Jae is too late and finds himself tangled in the
man’s massive thigh as it forces him to the ground with a distinct thud across
his chest. Twirling himself up and over the man’s leg before the second can
land its hit, Jae is finally able to make it to his feet. And he does so just in
time, because as he brings his blade to the ready he is blocking a thrust from
the Master’s blade. As he parries it to the left, Jae tries to land an elbow
in the man’s shoulder, and instead is pushed off balance by the man’s bulk
and into one of the gear racks. Recovering
from his fall, Jae lets loose with a spin kick that catches the Master in the
hip, but does little to thwart the fast slice of his rod into Jae’s chest.
Feeling the full impact of the rod, Jae struggles to regain his breath, but
still manages to accomplish another hit by slamming the butt of his rod into the
middle of the Master’s back as he sputters for air. The Master reacts by
throwing back his shoulders in pain, which gives Jae a clear shot at the man’s
head. A shot Jae does not waist when throws a fearsome right uppercut into the
man’s squared jaw. With
Master Dracul reeling from the punch, Jae is able to escape his tenuous position
and flips over the Master to land directly behind him. As Jae readies his blade
for a perfect strike, Master Dracul spins low on the ground with a sweep kick
and takes Jae’s feet out from underneath him and then brings a well placed
elbow down onto Jae’s solar-plexus. Jae
gasps for any breath of air he can muster as he lies on the floor waiting for
the next blow to finish him off, when he realizes that he has one more shot to
turn the tide of this battle. Bringing his knees to his chest, he springs to his
feet in a deft move to right himself, but in the same motion he spins himself
around so that he is facing away from the Master and then he crouches down
before backflipping over the man’s head and landing two elbows (one on each
side of the man’s neck), bringing the big man to his knees. Feeling
his own confidence growing inside of him, Jae chances a quick smile. However it
is short lived when the big man spins around on his knees and grabbing Jae by
the legs, forces Jae to fall backwards, slamming his head against the floor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Swimming
in a sea of indistinct light, Jae’s mind begins to struggle for a reason for
this blurred confusion. When something passes across the light, casting a shadow
on Jae’s face, his eyes try to focus well enough to make out what is standing
before him. Slowly, just like the fog lifting off the water in some remote
seaport, the world begins to take form once again for Jae. Blinking off the
confusion, he finds an outstretched hand being offered to him, and in a moment
of clarity he realizes that it is the hand of Master Bowen Dracul. Taking
the hand being offered him, Jae groans and grimaces as he rises from the floor
of the gymnasium. That is when the whole scenario comes flooding back into his
conscious mind; his race, his fight and his defeat. The man, however, does not
seem as grim as Jae at this moment. He steadies Jae with another hand upon his
shoulder and then shakes Jae’s hand in the familiar Corellian gesture. Jae
even makes out a smile on the man’s face, but Jae is not feeling so convivial
at this moment. The
man then leads Jae out of the gymnasium and back to the waiting area before
turning to Jae once more, putting a hand on Jae’s back. “That was quite a
show you put on there, kid… Not bad at all.” And the man throws Jae a towel
and walks out of the room, leaving him to his thoughts and his misery. Jae
beings to wipe the perspiration from his face and neck, then puts a hand to the
back of head. When he draws it back, he expects to find blood once more flowing
from that old wound, but a well-placed knot is all that he has to show for his
pain. Drying the sweat from his hair, Jae looks down into the towel, balls it up
and hurls it onto the counter on the opposite side of the room. “FRAG IT!!!”
he screams at the top of his lungs, and grabs his jacket as he storms out of the
room.
Creator: PtrsonsZOO (Jennifer)
*SPECIAL NOTE: Due to circumstances beyond our control, the rest of the story will be written by PtrsonsZOO (Jennifer)
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