Chapter 2: Forest Clash

Kandria's eyes opened blearily to the inside of some sort of pod. The pod was relatively cramped and small, and if she stood up right at that moment it was likely that she would have a very sore head soon after. It was made entirely of the Rakatan metal, with absolutely nothing on the interior walls except for the similarly metal chair which she resided on. Just blank, smooth metal. One thing that was different though, and that caught her attention the most, was the glass panel situated in front of her, allowing her a view of the outside.

The problem with that, however, was that the outside was…a forest? Still confused and slightly dazed, Kandria reached out to the glass, which seemed to respond to her touch as it lifted upwards, granting her exit.

Kandria stumbled out of the metal pod, falling to her knees and almost onto her face if she didn't catch herself. Blinking away the rest of the confusion she stood up, doing a full 360 degree turn to gauge her surroundings. Sure enough, she was in a forest. More specifically, she was in a small clearing with the cramped pod she had just escaped from being in the centre of it, a small crater in the point where the still bland metal rectangular pod had landed.

She stood very still for a moment, just staring blankly at the rectangular pod as her brain fully restarted and booted up. When that process was complete, her heart rate rose significantly and panic flooded her mind as she began looking around every which direction frantically and hyperventilate.

Where was she? What happened to the ship? Why can't she remember anything about what happened or how she got here?

It was at that moment that her Jedi training kicked in. Quickly, she worked to calm herself and slow her breathing. As this happened, she calmly walked to a nearby tree and sat cross-legged against it, counting the seconds between each breathe she took to help calm her down. The tree she sat against was the one which made up the forest she found herself surrounded by, with wide trunks and thick branches. It reminded her of a pine tree, if it was upscaled to impossible sizes.

Once she had sat down, she took up a meditation pose, closing her eyes and closing herself off from the outside world as she had been taught to do. She simply sat there for an undeterminable amount of time, and only opened her eyes when she had deemed herself to have calmed down enough.

Still sitting down, she took proper stock of the situation. She still had possession of everything she had and wore during the battle on the Rakatan Ship, including her lightsaber. She was likely stranded on an unknown planet, and as she didn't have a communicator, also had no way to make contact with the Republic. At the very least, the planet had a temperate and habitable environment.

The only warning she got was the soft sound of something landing on grass and the familiar hum of a lightsaber. Acting quickly, she dove to the side and into an evasive roll. Looking back, the oaken tree she had been leaning against was falling, cut at the exact level of her head and the stump now charred black.

Behind the tree, red lightsaber in hand, was perhaps the most familiar thing she had seen so far. The Sith she had been battling. Kandria quickly stood up, re-entering a combat stance as both of her armoured hands gripped her lightsaber tightly.

The Sith stared at the point where she had once been before turning to face her fully, essentially mirroring what he had done during their first fight on the ship. Unlike that first battle however, this time he gripped his lightsaber with both hands.

"And after I did all that work being sneaky." He said from behind his black mask.

"Uh huh. Any chance we can talk this out, Sith?" She offered, hoping to appeal to whatever reason there was in him.

As expected however, the Sith only chuckled in that strangely creepy yet genuine way, as though it is the laugh he would use if told a funny joke. The Sith pointed his lightsaber at her threateningly.

"As if I would willingly work with a Jedi." He said, a hint of venom entering his voice.

That was all she needed before she charged, having decided to go on the offensive this time. The Sith clearly didn't expect this and rushed to block her attacks. She ultimately knew this little gamble of hers would never last, due to the Sith's superior speed and strength.

What she needed though was to unbalance him, which had been working well in their last engagement. She knew he was clever though, and could adapt at the same level as her if his ever-changing fighting style was any indication.

Even now, while her initial attacks had managed to force him back a few steps he managed to quickly regain control of the situation. Seeing the tide of battle turn against her, she quickly jumped backwards, putting distance between the two once again.

The Sith had other plans however, and jumped after her in kind as he swung his lightsaber ferociously. They continued to parry and deflect one another's blow before Kandria was forced to retreat backwards once again lest she be overwhelmed completely. This turned into a continuous cycle which pushed the two deeper into the forest, neither able to get the absolute upper hand over the other.

She could see the writing on the wall however. If he kept on forcing her to retreat, she would eventually lose, whether it was from tiring out or if he threw out a sudden move she hadn't expected. She needed to shift the formula, shake things up enough for him to be thrown off balance enough for her to stand a chance.

As she prepared to jump backwards once again it suddenly clicked. When she did leap backwards, she leapt again as soon as she touched the ground, this time shooting upwards and landing deftly on the branches of one of the trees.

The Sith looked up at her, and even from her vantage point she could still hear him laugh. Not wasting a second the Sith leapt to the base of the trunk and sliced through it. Acting quickly before she would be taken down with the now falling pine, she leapt to the next which he then also summarily cut down.

And just like that, a new cycle had been created between the two of them. This was a better situation however, as she was now not in immediate danger of being cut in half by the superior Sith. And while she could have fled through the trees and likely lost him, Kandria preferred to keep him in her sights so as to not gain an unknown variable.

The two of them stopped at the exact same time as a sound made itself known throughout the forest. One which the two of them were undoubtedly incredibly familiar with. Ship engines. As if her thoughts had summoned it, a ship flew quickly overhead, too quickly for her to determine what sort of ship it was and its affiliation, this also not being helped by the dense foliage which limited her vision.

She stared after the direction the ship had gone. It had been flying low, and would have been going faster if it was just a fighter. That meant it was likely to land somewhere in the direction it was flying. She suddenly remembered her current predicament and looked down to find the Sith staring back.

With seemingly new vigour, the Sith twirled around, slicing his lightsaber through the tree trunk and forcing her to leap to the next. A problem she was just now realising was that she had to wait for the Sith to start cutting through the tree to jump to the next one safely, lest he intercept her.

Landing on the next branch over, she needed only wait but a second for the Sith to start swinging his blade. She quickly made to jump for the next branch before, as she was between branches, she spotted something horrifying. The Sith turned off his blade and instead used the momentum of his swing to leapt after her instantly.

Still stuck mid-air and with nothing to jump off of, the only way Kandria could, and did, react was by igniting her lightsaber and preparing for the intercepting Sith. This lack of options ultimately meant that she didn't expect the Sith to instead fall slightly short of her, and instead grab her ankle with his free left hand.

This had the effect of dragging her down with the now falling Sith, who then, quite literally, threw her below him. She had absolutely no counter to it, and could only lessen the consequences by using the Force to lighten her fall enough that she didn't break her many bones. In the fall, she had also lost her grip on her lightsaber, which was then promptly pulled into the outstretched hand of the Sith.

When she did make contact with the forest floor, the breath was knocked out of her, and she was sent rolling and sprawling. Coughing as she tried to desperately gather air into her lungs, she tried and failed to get back on her feet. Now laying face down and immobilised, she turned her head to see the Sith land lightly before beginning to approach her slowly, both of the lightsabers he wielded ignited.

Try as she might, she couldn't move her limbs whatsoever, the injuries she had gained from both of their fights finally catching up as the adrenaline wore off. Despite this, she still fought desperately to stay awake, even as her eyes threatened to close.

She hadn't even noticed it in her desperate bid to stay awake, but the Sith was now standing over her if the armoured boot that now filled her vision was any indication. Struggling with all the remainder of strength that remained within her, she tilted her head up to give her soon to be executioner a final stare of defiance into the white lenses which hid his eyes.

*****

Vancil remained passive as the Jedi stared up at him, as though she dared him to finish her off here and now. Vancil had considered that option as he had approached the prone Jedi, but now that he was victorious and the rush of combat had left him, he had managed to tame the more analytical side of him into actually thinking about the situation.

His mind raced with possibilities as he stared blankly at the Jedi. The both of them had been transported to a brand-new place through some sort of Rakatan technology, and if he didn't remember how then she certainly didn't. On top of that, something just felt…wrong. As if the very air that he breathed was different, and potentially hostile to him.

It was frankly unsettling. He broke the staring contest between him and the Jedi and lifted his red blade to look at it in ponderous thought. He could just kill her now. That was what he really wanted to do deep down. Kill this damned Jedi. But there was something else. The niggly hunch that maybe, maybe, he should spare her.

It was the smart thing to do after all, considering they appeared to be in exactly the same boat. Heck, if he hadn't found her so quickly and managed to come down from his combat high maybe they could have talked it out. But then, did she even want to talk it out? Especially considering the beating she had just suffered under his hands.

His gaze drifted to where he had seen the ship fly as the internal battle within him continued to rage. Usually, he would be all for listening to his urges and hunches, but now that his urge to kill and his hunch to spare were conflicting, he was stumped. An idea came to him. He just needed an excuse to spare her. If the ship was Republic, he could hold her hostage and get information about his whereabouts. If it was an Empire ship, he could hand her over for a hefty reward and still get the information.

A devious smile crossed his face beneath the mask as he nodded to himself. That seemed to satisfy his desire to kill her enough. Looking down at the Jedi he found that the defiant look he had seen in her eyes had been replaced by one of seeming confusion, likely at his lack of action for well over a minute.

"Get up, Jedi. Today is your unlucky day."