The explosion caught her by surprise.
She had miscalculated. She should have known better, should have known that even if her opponent was a Miraluka, he could likely perceive the mines in some way or another. It only made sense that he would use them against her to gain the upper hand. Her approach had been sloppy. Sivall had done a disservice to her ploy by trying her best to aim for the most non-lethal spots with her blaster–the Arena droids she had been trying to impersonate were likely programmed to not care if they hit something important.
The Chiss was only stunned for a moment when she hit the surface of the shipping container. She had connected first with her shoulder, which howled in searing pain, having been tucked under herself in an attempt to brace. It didn’t matter how much her shoulder screamed, however, as she didn’t have time to wallow. Seconds could be the difference between her gaining the advantage or giving the match to Shanree, and she had wasted enough time already. A deep breath steadied her, instilling silence and confidence once again, steeling her nerves for the plan unfurling in her head.
Pale blue hands planted against the dirty metal and grime of the container-turned-home as she pushed herself into a modified stance that resembled a mixture of a push up and a crouching feline. Shanree had used the slim few heartbeats that she had been down to search for his saber in the direction where it had been flung off into the distance by the explosion he had triggered.
It seemed he was also formulating a plan, piecing together what he would do next now that he had uncovered his hidden foe. Shanree had an effortless calm about him which made it hard to read if he was concerned about his ability to handle her or the fight to come.
Her plan was relatively simple now: she would use the shadows again– sneak in and out of view, use the arena against Shanree, perhaps splice a droid or two. Her slicing skills had gotten rusty but the risk was worth it. Sivall had spent time observing her opponent before Shanree had found her and had taken note of the confidence in his walk, the sureness of his steps. This was a man who was used to battle and was likely far more experienced than she was. Close quarters combat would not be an option. The only way she could win this match was by being clever.
The droids tracking her movement for the audience lost sight of her as she quickly shimmered out of sight, blanketing herself in the Force Cloak she had gotten so adept at using.
It would have been a good tactic, but Sivall had miscalculated once more.
Shanree smirked, only lightly at first, before reaching out with his hand and plucking her small frame into the air.
“Nice try,” he chuckled, “but my senses aren’t so easily fooled. I’ll give you an ‘Aurek’ for effort, though.”
His smirk grew, gaining a barely concealed air of cockiness to it as the man lowered himself from his position on the topmost container in the stack. The transition and change in elevation did nothing to lessen his hold on her. Warning bells went off in the Chiss medic’s mind.
Sivall swore internally, panic rising.
Thinkthinkthink.
An idea rose from the fog of uncertainty and frustration that had started to swell inside her skull. She could use his senses against him!
Shanree had begun to make his way towards her, brandishing only one of his staves-turned-lightsabers. So she dropped her Cloak and focused her energy elsewhere. The Force filled her arms and legs with strength, pouring into her veins like sunbeams liquified and injected into her vascular system.
A surging tempest of energy within canceled out his telekinesis and freed her from his invisible grasp. Fueled by the tidal wave of energy inside her, Sivall propelled herself forward with unnatural speed across the container that they stood upon, quickly closing the space between them. She could tell with the look on Shanree’s face that she had caught him by surprise as well. He hadn’t expected her to have a counter to his hold– and not many did.
Her past afforded her with the luxury of having the motive to train the skill and the drive to hone it. Out of all the bad that had been her life before, at least there was this one silver lining.
A booted foot connected fully with the taller man’s lower ribs, ripping a heavy pain-filled gasp from his lips, the Miraluka’s moment of hesitation enough for her to get in a solid hit. The medic felt bone give way under the contact. Good.
While it was very unlikely that she could win this fight, she could at least tell Anders when it was done and over that she at least got a hit in and went down fighting. She wanted to make him proud. She wanted to show him that taking her under his wing had been worth the time and energy he had poured into her.
The Quaestrix of House Galeres wasted no time pulling away from Shanree so he couldn’t catch her foot. She took another step back and raised her hands, causing the shadows around them to rush towards the pair like hungry beasts. It cloaked the area and created a dome of thick haze. She hoped it was akin to throwing ink in Shanree’s non-existent eyes. The Elder would be forced to escape the bubble of darkness or the two would be reduced to duking it out using their other senses for the next few moments.
By then hopefully she would be closer to the edge of her cover and making her way across the containers once more.
She took an utterly silent step to her left, all of her other senses on alert for incoming attacks. She had handicapped herself as well with this move as it was likely his senses were stronger than hers– including but not limited to his ability to reach out in the Force.
But she had brought him into her home turf, dragged him down into the shadows her clan was so well known for. She had fought so often in the dark– and hoped she could see better in this cloud than him with all of the Force energy filling the air.