Star Forge - 35 (Patreon)

"A rescue mission?" Adyan asked over the comms.

I nodded, "Then we'll introduce everyone to the new crewmember."

"Another one?" Adyan sighed. "You're collecting strays like crazy these days."

I chuckled, "We might need to deliver the rescue to a safe location. That could slow our return as well."

"We both know that you'll collect another stray," Adyan laughed.

I shook my head even if she couldn't see me, "I liked it better when you were too awed by my amazingness to be snarky."

"I don't," Adyan snorted. "I'll send along the message. Don't take too long, Ani misses you."

I smiled under my helmet, "We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Roger, roger," Adyan said. "Remember to keep us updated."

She cut the connection there.

"She sounds interesting," Ahsoka said.

I nodded, "She is. Are you ready to start our rescue mission?"

"A week of traveling at the speed of hurry and wait?" Ahsoka asked in reply. "Yes. I'm ready."

I chuckled, "Do you want to get some actual sparring in?"

"Hand-to-hand," Ahsoka replied. "I feel like punching you a few times."

"Armor on or off?" I asked as we made our way to the open area I set aside for training.

Her voice had an edge to it, "Off."

I started to remove my armor as we reached the room. It was more complicated than simply taking off a standard suit of armor. My undersuit was actually three pieces: torso, legs, and the connective layer. There were multiple spots where the tech in the armor attached to the undersuit. The actual armor was more than just pieces of metal. The Master Smith Talent and Stark Schematics worked together to let me know that the technology was impressive. There were a few piece of Iron Man tech that I could apply to my armor to streamline things rather than pure upgrades.

Tech adjustment would be a good way to spend the next few days.

Ahsoka was waiting for me. She watched me with her arms crossed.

"Sorry," I blushed. "Lost in thought."

I stopped once I reached my undersuit. Taking that off would leave me completely nude. Then I would have to take time to get actual clothes. Ahsoka probably wouldn't appreciate me stripping down. I wasn't sure I would be comfortable if she did. She was a great character. I admit I had a little bit of a crush on her when I was younger. That was when she was a fictional character without a chance of actually interacting. The Galactic Standard Calendar wasn't a perfect fit across the various systems. Something as simple as the actual length of a day could mess things up, not to mention when expanded to a year. That and I had no idea how the Togruta biology matured. Some species were up on their feet and learning to speak within hours while others could take decades. It sounded odd until you compared it to Earth. For example, the speed of development for a baby deer versus a baby human.

"Are you ready yet?" Ahsoka cleared her throat.

I shook my head. Lost in thought again. Damn, that happened too often. She bounced from one foot to the other to get her blood flowing. I took a moment to stretch and look at her with an analytical gaze rather than any other sort. The Force made it hard to gauge strength and speed. I would have to rely on what I could measure. She was shorter than me, lighter too. That was about it, everything else could be modified with proper application of her Force Abilities.

There was one sure way to get a proper read on her.

I rolled my shoulders and bounced a little on the balls of my feet. She raised an eyebrow in a silent question. Eyebrows, they were part of the tattoo on her face not actual hair. It did make me wonder if Togruta had any hair on their bodies.

Ahsoka burst forward fast enough to make it hard to track her. She stopped a strike a hairs width from hitting my stomach.

"Focus," She snapped.

I nodded, "Do Togruta have hair?"

"What?" Ahsoka scrunched her brow in confusion.

I pointed to my head, "Hair. Do you have any?"

"No," She stated flatly. "Any other questions or should I just start punching when you distract yourself?"

I shrugged, "My mind is bouncing around like crazy."

"Does this happen a lot?" Ahsoka smirked.

"Usually it means I've forgotten something," I replied. "My brain is going through everything it can to fill in the gaps. The only problem being that I don't know where they are, or what they are about."

"When did it start?" Ahsoka asked.

"The distress signal," I replied. "There's something about it. I just can't place it."

Ahsoka flashed a feral smile, "Maybe a couple hard whacks to the head will help."

"Let's give it a shot," I chuckled.

Ahsoka hopped back into her original spot.

"You're sure about this?" I asked. "We could still grab our sticks."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, "I was surrounded by my brothers. Do you honestly think I can't take a punch?"

"No biting, fishhooks, or knock-knock jokes," I said.

She nodded, not taking the bait. It's hard to fight when you're laughing. A little misdirection helps too.

Ahsoka sprang forward once more. She juked to the side as she got closer. Her leg snapped out, aimed perfectly for the outside of my knee. I countered, raising the targeted leg, then following through with a sloppy crane-kick. Her strike hit my shin rather than my knee while my kick knocked her back.

I pressed my advantage as she stumbled. A quick trio of testing jabs kept her busy as I closed the distance. I lunged once I was close enough. She grunted as my shoulder smacked into her waist. The noise shifted to a sudden squeak as I lifted her off her feet. She thought fast, using the momentum to flip over my shoulders foiling my plan to slam her flat on the padded floor.

Ahsoka curled into a roll as she landed. She popped back to her feet. I turned just in time to get kicked in the chest. My perk [Actually Strong] helped keep me on my feet. She didn't let that slow her down. Ahsoka spun, using motion to send a roundhouse kick aimed at my cheek.

I caught her kick at the ankle. Her foot planted on the ground was the only reason she remained upright. Her eyes went wide as I lifted her leg higher until it was almost perfectly vertical. She didn't seem to have an issue with the stretch. Good for her. I raised my hand, actually lifting her off the ground this time.

The momentary shock faded as she felt her other foot leave the ground. She pressed off with her toes while she could still reach. The leg not in my grip streaked through the air. Instead of aiming at my face, or my crotch, she wrapped it around my outstretched arm. I felt her foot lock in place as she turned away from me. The shift in weight should have pulled me toward the ground where she could use it as leverage. It could have worked; except I didn't have any issue holding her entire weight with one arm. I raised my arm over my head and shook it like an annoying patch of mud.  

"How," She yanked on my wrist.

"Are," She kicked her heel into my shoulder.

"So," She slipped her foot out of the boot I held.

"Strong?" She asked as she dropped to the floor.

I hopped back as she tried to sweep my feet out from under me, "You're just very light."

She hit me with a Force Push in the stomach. I let out a little 'oof' as I slid back a foot or so. Ahsoka summoned her boot, caught it, then tossed it at my head. I leaned to the side letting it sail by. Turning to my side, I caught the boot before she could pull it back.

"Good use of improvisation," I nodded. "I expected you to be fast. You're stronger than I thought."

Ahsoka grumbled something under her breath. I tossed her the boot. She caught it and put it back on.

"Are you actually going to fight back?" She asked.

I shrugged, "Sure."

Ashoka didn't bother to say anything more. She was back on her feet charging me before I said anything more. The Togruta slid along the floor, twisting behind me, then kicked the back of my knee. I felt my knee buckle slightly as she put some power into the kick. She jumped on my back, wrapping an arm around my neck, and applying pressure. I hooked my arms under her legs before they could lock around my torso. Her weight shifted, putting more pressure on my neck rather than dropping her.

I dropped into a crouch, hopped, and landed using her to break the fall. Rather, that was my plan. She was trickier than I thought. Ahsoka twisted, somehow ending up on top of me. She braced her knees on my chest to add an extra impact. It was a nice surprise that the floor was padded.

Ahsoka showed more of her practical experience. She crawled over me like a monkey, then wrapped around my arm to lock into an armbar. Her ground game was on point. I kipped up to my feet with her still locked on my arm. Ahsoka's eyes went wide as I used the floor to dislodge her. She hit the ground with a solid THUD.

She rolled to the side, out of my range, and popped back to her feet. I dropped my defensive approach now that I had some solid information on her. Ahsoka sprang directly toward me. It was easy to see her version of Anakin's influence on her style even without a lightsaber. There wasn't much room for defense. She traded speed for the power Anakin used. Ahsoka excelled at being next to the place that you thought she was. A front kick aimed at her stomach might hit her hip if she was slow. I could easily see her with a luchador mask about to do a frog-splash from the top rope.

A wicked smile crossed my face. Professional Wrestling it was. I was worried about hurting her if I tried to truly fight her. My enhanced strength coupled with the [Redacted] Perk meant almost all of my techniques were lethal. Professional Wrestling was all about control, how to hit someone so you could hit them again and again without sending them to the hospital, how to jump off the top-rope and land just right so you can do it again in a few minutes. It would be a little bit rougher than an actual match since she wasn't part of it, but she would survive. No leg slaps to sell kicks or stomps to enhance my punches. This wasn't for a crowd. Thankfully, this world seemed to run on a cinematic theme. Flashy fights were the gold standard.

I hate to admit it, but fighting the original version of Anakin sounded awesome. Evil Anakin or Darth Vader after he's adjusted to the suit. I might die, but damn that would be cool.

Ahsoka sprang to the side, redirected her approach mid-jump with the Force, and twisted into a spin-kick aimed at my face. I ducked it as I rushed forward just past her. My arms wrapped around her torso as I turned around to face the same way she was. A quick shuffle of my feet set us up for a perfect German Suplex. I adjusted the path to avoid landing on her lekku, but she was still introduced to the ground once more. Using the momentum I kept moving. I let her go and she rolled away to gain some space. This time I didn't let her recover. I charged directly at her, made sure she was lined-up correctly, and slammed my forearm across her upper chest. The textbook clothesline sent her into a tight backflip that she deftly landed flat on her face.

I put one hand on her leg and the other on her shoulder then lifted her over my head, "I must break you."

"What?!" Ahsoka yelled.

I shifted my grip, bringing her down to my knee in a move that would have made Bane proud. There wasn't a dramatic crack or screams of pain. The middle of her back rested on my knee. My grip kept her from falling.

"I had you going there for a moment," I chuckled as I put her down safely.

"What the kriff was that?" Ahsoka rubbed the spot where my forearm had hit.

"Unconventional Unarmed Combat," I said like I knew what I was talking about.

"Unconventional," She muttered. "I can agree with that."

I smiled broadly, "Round two?"

"Maybe after I get some ice for my back," Ahsoka said.

I raised an eyebrow, "Why not just heal?"

"Heal?" She asked.

I nodded slowly, "Using the Force."

"Are you making things up now?" She crossed her arms.

I ran a hand over my face, "Get into your preferred meditation setup."

To clarify, I sat on the floor in a relaxed lotus position. She knelt beside me.

"Now," I let my voice soften. "Close your eyes and focus on your connection with the Force."

"Done," She said a moment later.

I chuckled, "Keep hold it while you examine your body. Direct the Force through each limb, your torso, and your neck. Don't push it to your head, you're not ready for that yet. It should feel like –"

She shuddered.

"A cool breeze across your skin," I said. "Once you get the hang of it."

Ahsoka let out a contented sigh, "That's nice."

"You didn't know this before?" I asked.

"No," She replied. "Where did you learn it?"

I chuckled, "Observation and desperation make for an interesting duo."

"Do you know any other tricks like that?" Ahsoka asked.

I shrugged as I opened my eyes. She was looking at me with intensity.

"Force Barrier?" I asked.

She thought for a moment then shook her head.

"Astrogation?"

Another shake.

"Lightning," I asked.

"That's a Darkside ability," She said quickly.

"Abilities aren't Light or Dark, it's the person that uses them," I countered. "Every Dark ability can be used to help. Just like every Light ability can be used to harm."

I had to take a moment to stop myself from singing Every Rose Has Its Thorns. Damn, I was having trouble focusing. This always happens when I'm missing something. My brain goes off in random directions in the hope that I'll figure it out.

"Let's get started then, Padawan Tano," I chuckled. "You have some things to learn."