EliteCommander

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek looked at Onyx curiously. "You think he will send you? I suppose that would make sense, now that I think about it. You could probably keep the others in line if there are any problems. Hopefully, all of the people he sends will be as open-minded as you. I can foresee a lot of problems if they aren't, and not just with me. Tel Nof is different from Amman, but our cultures do share common threads. I know how to get along with their people, but everyone that goes with us will have to listen to me when it comes to how to act. Doing the wrong things could greatly offend them and compromise our mission. Have you ever been to a city or settlement that wasn't Elissic?" He asked.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek nodded before walking over to collect his belongings. He began by fastening his sheathe for his machete around his waist as he spoke. "Very well. If nothing else, I can inform him of my progress. Given what I gathered from our fight, it should be a few days at most before I'm ready."

After putting on his robe, Tarentek began to follow Onyx's lead to her father. "I wonder what kind of escort he is going to give me for this mission? Our destination will be to the west, so I wouldn't expect to run into enemy troops there just yet. I just hope that whoever he sends isn't too...offended at having to guard an outsider." He commented as they walked along.

Star Wars - Scum and Villainy

Sirka gave something mixed between a grunt and a laugh. "Hmph, be careful with the offers you make. I might just be willing to accept, and you might find yourself waking up with a broken bed and a sore-" She began before a loud ding interrupted her. Tony explained that they would be arriving soon, which meant it was time to get serious. Honestly, she had not expected to arrive so quickly, but she supposed that they weren't too far away to begin with, and this ship was supposed to have a good navicomputer.

As everyone was getting ready, Sirka did the same. She returned to her room, then strapped back on her bandoliers and holsters, grabbed her sidearm, then put on the backpack that contained her heavy repeater's power supply. The repeater itself was currently clipped to the backpack as well, and was tethered to the power pack by a reasonably thick cable. It wasn't the most elegant weapon to carry around, but she could put out an entire squad's worth of firepower with it. Given that they were definitely going to be outnumbered, and probably by a lot, it was worth every bit of hassle.

Sirka rushed up to the cockpit once she had finished arming herself, her heavy footsteps echoing through the hall as she ran. "Alright, I'm here, so what'd I miss? We going to end up boarding that frigate or something?"

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek took Onyx's hand and stood to his feet, feeling his joints pop as he did. "Ah, I feel sore, though I suppose I should have expected that. I didn't get hurt too badly, though, so I'll be fine. I certainly would not mind sparring in the future, if we get the chance. Once I'm fully healed and am fighting at my best, you can do the same with your flight. As long as they're is time, of course. Once I'm fully healed, I am probably going to be heading on my mission soon." He reasoned.

Tarentek began to stretch out his muscles. "Anyway, what shall we do next? I think I might want to avoid anything too physical."

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

As soon as Onyx requested it, Tarentek released her, then backed off. He sat down on the ground in front of her and let out a deep breath, his fatigue showing with his subsequent heavy breathing. The fight had not lasted too long, but if it had lasted any longer, he likely would not have been as successful. He already felt like he needed to rest after all of that, so he would have exhausted himself if it had kept going.

"That...was a good fight, especially given that neither of us were fighting at our best. You did well; you're fast, agile, and got in quite a few jabs on me. Luckily, I have a good grip. My scales are pretty thick, so your claws didn't do as much as you might have wanted. Regardless, that could have gone either way." He said, pausing a moment, laying down on his back, and looking up into the sky. "I'm already considering a nap at this point. That was pretty tiring."

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek had almost had the breath knocked out of him when he hit the ground, but he had expected it, and pushed through to hasten his response. Onyx had released her grip on his arm, but he still had a hold of hers. As he rolled onto his side and started to get up, he saw that she was in a crouching position, paused for a brief moment. In an instant reaction, he seized the opportunity, pouncing on her in order to hold her down with his weight. He kept a hold of the one arm while quickly grabbing the other near the elbow. Finally, he tried to reposition himself so he could hold her torso down with his knee. It was possible this would force her to give, though she could always have more tricks.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Onyx did focus herself on keeping upright, but that only briefly delayed her retaliation. She managed to turn and put her back to him, then grab his arms. If one of his arms was still free, he could have used the position to get a tight hold around her, but as it stood, she had his arms and was clawing at his wrists. Certainly, it did hurt, but Tarentek's scales were thick, perhaps more-so than Onyx expected. Against a forceful stab or slash from a knife or other blade, his scales could not hold up, but his natural armor was reasonably effective in hand-to-hand combat. When she slammed into him to knock him down, he did indeed start to fall, but he had managed to keep his grip on her arm, so he was pulling her down with him.

Tarentek prepared for the impact. If Onyx was thrown off enough by the fall, then he had a good chance of getting his arms around her and forcing her into a situation where he had much more control. Grappling on the ground was where his strength would really shine. If she came up with something creative, however, he could lose control, and likely wouldn't gain it back. He did not currently have the endurance to sustain an extended fight.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek's effort had some success, but the situation was not ideal. Thanks to his training, he was able to move with her to keep his arm from being twisted excessively as she brought herself to her feet, but there was still the matter of her free hand. As she started to jab at his shoulder, he tried to use his own free hand to grab hers, but her strikes were fast, and he couldn't get a secure grip. With each jab, Tarentek felt his grip on her arm weaken, so he had to make a decision.

Instead of trying to grab Onyx's free arm, Tarentek tightly grasped the arm he had already grabbed with both hands. This secured his hold on Onyx, but left him open to strikes from her other hand. To combat this, Tarentek decided to try and use his size to his advantage. He quickly moved one of his sizable feet behind hers, then pushed against her with his shoulder in an attempt to trip her up and force her to the ground. His hope was that she would be too focused on her footwork to be able to do much damage with her free hand, but if not, he had to hope he could endure the pain of her retaliation long enough to secure his advantage.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek's assessment of Onyx seemed to be accurate, as her attacks were following the strategy he predicted. Unfortunately, it was also a difficult strategy for him to fight. She could use her agility to dart around him, getting in quick blows and backing off. His ribs and a few other points were already starting to ache, and the strikes he had managed to deliver in return were not direct enough to do much harm. Something needed to change if he was going to recover; he needed an opportunity.

Onyx had managed to get off quite a few successful jabs, but eventually, Tarentek was able to accurately predict one of her attacks. As she dashed behind him and went for another strike, he spun around and slapped her with is tail in the process. Not wanting to let go of a potential way of gaining the upper hand, Tarentek took the chance to retaliate and attempt to grab her. He would prefer to control her arms, but he would grab anything he could get a hold of as long as it could bring them into a grapple. He had his training in some grappling techniques to use to his advantage, he just hoped the strike from his tail threw her off-balance enough that he could get a hold on her.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

"Okay, so not much different from what I'm used to, then." Tarentek responded, moving himself to a spot the right distance from Onyx to start the fight. "There usually aren't any special rules in our matches either, and we often set up signals as well. I will say, there is a good chance of me surrendering during this. I want to have the exercise, but I need to be careful not to put my body through too much, else my recovery might be slowed. Well, anyway, I guess we should begin."

Tarentek took on a combat stance and brought his hands up into a guard. He already knew what his likely advantages and disadvantages would be, but he still ended up sizing her up out of habit. He watched her stance and movements to try and get a sense of how she might fight. He expected her to be more agile than himself, while he had strength and reach. He supposed this meant she would probably stick to fast, well-aimed strikes to his weak points. If he could get her into a grapple, he would be able to gain the upper hand by leveraging his strength against her, so she would likely be getting in and out quickly with strikes that would wear him down, something he would have to put a stop to quickly. With her speed, it would not do any good to rush her, so Tarentek stood his ground in a defensive stance, waiting for her to make the first move.