A Higher Purpose (Telos, Bounty on LC)

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The galaxy was an everchanging place. Galactic powers rose and fell, and those beings caught in between were forced to scurry through the cracks, never stopping for fear of being crushed. These beings were often forgotten, or referred to as casualties of war.

Gravesen Conclave was one of these beings, and he would not be a statistic.

He and his partner, [member="Zeer Delos"], had traveled the galaxy on their sketchy misadventures. From an attempted robbery of Bespin's most prized jewels, to executing a rogue Jedi Knight on Yavin IV, the duo had seen far more than young Gravesen had ever imagined possible. He had once been a simple university student until the Sith Empire turned his world upside down. Men were forced to change if they wished to continue their existence.

This had led to the young man becoming a bounty hunter of all things, far from his chosen occupation of a historian. The result had ended up with Gravesen strolling through the disgusting tavern known as the Watering Hole aboard on of Telos's orbiting stations. How fitting it was, that the prime target was a force user, and even more so that the target had come to Telos, the planet that had once held Zeer and Gravesen prisoner under the Empire's heel.

The normally lighthearted young man pushed through the throngs of drunkards and scantily clad women. He grimaced at the smell of body odor mixing with the tangy scent of alcohol. The buzzing in the back of his mind grew more intense as he eyed the target, something he now knew was an affinity for the living force. That was the real reason as to why he was here, the bounty was an excuse.

He slipped through the small crowds toward a group of drunken men. His long, armored trench coat swayed back and forth as he approached, gloved hands reaching up to remove his hood. His face was young, and oddly unscarred for a Rattataki. A hand went to tug at the hilt of the machete hanging from his waist.

Do this right.

"[member="Zius Tal'Verda"]? Odd place to hunker down buddy."

 

[Rusken Shaxx]

Piss and brew moistened the floor at everyone's feet with a sickly slick shine. The boots of common street thugs and high-heels of even less desirable yet taxed women crowded the floor like polluted water in a junk pool. Scarred faces and curved feminine lips conversed with one another as unintelligible chanting and shouting wafted through the stale and odorous air, drunken slurring and arguing being common-place for such a scummy and low-life dump.

Zius sat comfortably upon a cushioned arch of a chair with a few others who were sweaty from their binge drinking, reeking of booze.

"Another round! Ahahhahahah!"

"I sthink.....uhhh...hrgh"

"You heard 'em! Give us another round!"

There wasn't really much for the slightly intoxicated cyborg to say. He was inside the belly of a city slum living it up with the pathetic excuses for guardsmen whom were there to impose and enforce safety, not contradict their own rules. His armour stood out like a sore thumb in an otherwise grotty and stained drunkard fest. His helmet was attached to his hip on a latch, his lightsaber caught the light of an overhead lamp and glinted with opposition like a diamond half buried in soot.

That's when he felt another Force user drawing near. There weren't any here before, and this could only mean someone was either seeking him or were just as down-on-their-luck and wanted to forget their shame for a few moments with a grotesque woman. Soon enough a figure came into view, and it wasn't any coincidence.

They felt like Sith.... but weren't.

The Ex-Jedi Hunter slowly rose to his feet, staring the two down with a look in his cybernetic eyes that pierced right through and let them know he was aware of how obvious their intentions were.

"How about I buy you lads a drink.... yeah?"

His tone of voice was one of sarcasm. If they wanted to start a fight, Zius at least wanted it to be in a place that didn't involve so many people. Even if some of these scum did deserve death.

[member="Gravesen Conclave"]

 

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Gravesen had never really been the squeamish type. Gore and the grotesque were part of the subject he had studied during his time as a student. Such things had been dulled to him, though the scent of an open wound did give him a faint chill. Other than that, however, few things could get to the young man. This being somehow did.

It wasn't something natural. Graves felt a faint chill shudder down his spine as he stared at the armored individual, lips slightly pursed. He gave a quick glance over the shoulder, and cursed under his breath. Zeer was late, as per usual, and Gravesen was receiving odd vibes from the man. Something told him this being had somewhat ill intentions, even more so than the sarcasm did.

"I promised my mom I'd stop. Sold the family's magic Akk dogs." Graves gestured with a faint nod toward the backdoor. It would do. "You know why I'm here. Let's keep it clean. Out back." If the armored man assumed Graves was hunting him for credits, then things were going alog well. He pushed through the throngs of people once more, and slipped through the back door.

The Rattataki took a spot in the back alley, paying no heed to the musky smells as he folded his arms over his chest, waiting in the dim lighting. If one were to sense him through the force, they would feel a gnawing fear mixed with grim certainty.

[member="Zius Tal'Verda"]

 

[Rusken Shaxx]

"Keep it clean? As you wish..."

He retorted back to the bounty hunter, staring him down even still as he passed him by and headed towards the backdoor. Being hunted didn't come as a huge surprise to Zius since he did in fact belong to a seemingly renegade group of freedom fighters. Fighters... Calico didn't want any conflict between them and any irrelevant persons trying to incite hostility; although, if the Dark Jedi made this quick and clean like the said bounty hunter stated, then who would know? No one would care to find a corpse in a decaying cavity of this wretched slum.

As he stepped out into the back alley, he grabbed his helmet and slid it onto his head. The HUD activating with a few beeps and a VOX to state the status of his battle armour.

"Vitals... online.
Anti-Hazardous Protection... online.
Outer shielding... online.
All systems go. Welcome, Zius."

All ready, and now to wait for his guest. Honestly, where did these guys come from? Is it the fact he has brass and confidence? Or were the hunters in this galaxy beginning to lose their niche.

[member="Gravesen Conclave"]

 

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Graves quickly unstrapped the Velcro holding his compact rifle steady within his coat. It slid out into his arms, an old model once used by soldiers of the Sith Empire, and clicked off the safety. The weapon whirred to life, a green light flickering on to indicate that the weapon was online. He pointed it toward the ground, expression determined as he stared at Zius.

"I'm not here to fight." He said, voice wavering slightly. The man was trembling out of very real fear. He knew what force users could do, what they did to innocent people. It was why he needed to learn, to protect himself. "You can use the force. The bounty said so. I-....I need to learn." The young man gripped the rifle so tight that it hurt his hands. If his quarry decided to raise a blade, Gravesen had no doubt as to whether he would leave the alley or not.

Be brave.

"I'm Gravesen. Gravesen Conclave. I know I'm force sensitive, a Jedi told me so before he died. I need to be trained, please...I can pay you."

[member="Zius Tal'Verda"]

 

[Rusken Shaxx]

Zius stared the man down in silence before walking up to him, brushing his cloak away to reveal the curved hilt of his lightsaber as a means to strike even more fear into the alleged bounty hunter's heart. This was by far one of the most naive people he had ever come across in all his years among the galaxy, and he came seeking aid? Albeit a bit suspicious, this was either a clever trick to catch the Dark Jedi off guard, or maybe he was sincere.

"You had better be joking. Because if you're not, I should flay you right where you stand. Now tell me who sent you."

He wasn't exactly buying it, and it didn't seem feasible for a stranger to just come alone and be aware of the exact location to look in. Could it be possible? Could this seemingly lonesome di'kut actually be seeking "training"? The answer would decide what set of events were to unfurl next.

His call.

[member="Gravesen Conclave"]

 

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Gravesen stared down at the curved hilt. He'd seen those weapons far more than he would have liked. During his tenure under the Sith: in the hands of a rogue Jedi, swinging toward his neck on Bespin....

"Get to the flaying then."

Fear replaced itself with firey rage. The Jedi would never have taken Graves, he was too old, too tainted for them to consider. The Sith were slavers who acted like squabbling children. Truly, Gravesen had no other to turn to. Zeer's mental state relied on him learning the ways, as did the life of his tribe. This man's refusal to train him, in favor of an execution could not, would not happen. Not as long as Gravesen was still conscious.

"No one controls me, no one sends me anywhere. I saw your bounty, and I took it. My friend and I have been caught between the skirmishes of galactic powers for too long. We've been under the heel of Sith Lords and errant Knights for too long. The Jedi would never take us, not with his mental state. Teach me, and I will obey." He spoke with an unsettling resolve. The voice of a young leader coming into manhood, and would stand up for those who relied on him. If the Dark Jedi wished him to be dead, then he would have a bit of a struggle first.

"I didn't grovel or cower, I put myself at your mercy. Am I not worthy?"

[member="Zius Tal'Verda"]

 

[Rusken Shaxx]

This one had a spine, a conscious. There was something about this man that spoke volumes of potential as his morale seemed to boost with a certain inflection that seemed almost defiant, rejecting death as an outcome between the two. Nothing was really stopping Zius from attempting to take his life and leave the corpse to fester and rot in a place where there were no souls, only credits and the gleaming light of a blaster's bolt.

The grim and dull atmosphere of the alley held colours of red ferocity and the dark shade of vigorous blue, a canvas of paths where bloody crimson could paint the walls or the burning orange of a star could signal in the galaxy to symbolize the dawn of a new day for the bounty hunter. The urge for Zius to just activate his lightsaber and separate the man's mind from body was creeping up like a silent shadow with no forewarning.

The Force is with him... but should it be?

"So you truly want training. And what makes you so eager to believe that I won't just kill you later on and sell your corpse to whatever nearby research lab for a chunk of credits? I'll train you, but I won't be making -any- promises."

He let out a brief sigh, turning his head to look out of the alleyway to catch a glimpse of a group walking by, chuckling as they exhaled fire from their lungs, rambling on about making a hit on some bloke who ran scared over some credits and a murder. Typical for such a scummy dump.

[member="Gravesen Conclave"]

 

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"You very well may."

Gravesen flicked the safety on his rifle. The dull whir of the weapon died down into silence. He slipped it into his trench coat and stared at the armored man. "The galaxy is full of force users. They step all over us, we're just tools to them."

The pale skinned man's brow knit, his icy blue eyes narrowing into slits as he peered the group passing around the alley. They were just like the disgusting vermin back in the prison; the ones who would have killed him if not for Zeer. He was tired of being the one who needed saving. He was tired of simply being the brains. He was tired of me with glowing swords ruling over everything he held dear.

"Dying at your hand would be the same as being struck down against a Jedi or a Sith. It's just sooner, and if things don't change, then my time of death won't matter."

The boy's force signature wasn't anything overly special. His affinity was slightly below average, just under the margin to be trained. Yet, the passionate certainty he portrayed ebbed off of him in tangible waves. He had seen the force, felt it, even managed to use it himself. He needed it, and if that meant giving up his current state of mind, even his personality, then he would do it. People were counting on him.

[member="Zius Tal'Verda"]

 

[Rusken Shaxx]

"We will start some time soon, but remember that I cannot promise your survival if you come with me. There are... -other- prying eyes that intend to make some quick credits off of that bounty."

He let out a faint sigh, leaning against a wall for moment in thought. Of all the people this lad could seek out, he chose the one that doesn't give a frack about his mortality rate. Daring, but still naive and too full of hope. Bravery isn't what makes a warrior, fear is the way to understand and survive.

Zius looked to the man and nodded his hear towards the backdoor to the bar, telling him to go ahead. This would be the first apprentice that the Dark Jedi ever had, and it was somehow discouraging to force the hand of another to go through the very same practices he had experienced earlier in life. Would ruining a life be worth it? He should just tell the bounty hunter to go elsewhere, find a new life and stay the hell away from anything relating to factions or Force Users. But this wasn't going to be that easy, Zius knew the bloke wouldn't take no for an answer.

He's barely attuned to the Force... we can fix that.

"Head towards my ship in the hangar, I'll be there shortly after I pay my tab."

[member="Gravesen Conclave"]