Catch Me if You Can

[Roshki Belawiiks]

Location: Huttball Smash, Anteluma, Commenor
Time: Afternoon

​I sat at the outdoor table of the café, hunched over my cup of caf. My hood was pulled low, and I was doing what I could to keep from being noticed. Across from me was a young couple, smiling happily at each other. Repulsed by the sight, I instead fixated on one of their mugs. It had been...three months? Four? Since Maxi had been murdered, yet the would was still fresh in my mind. He was my baby, my child - my one true unconditional love. And those monsters had had the audacity to take his precious life away.

My emotions began to bubble, causing one of the mugs belonging to the couple to break. They both let out startled cries, earning the curious looks of the other patrons. I forced myself to relax. Again, drawing attention was the last thing I needed.

​One would have thought that my revenge was had with the culling at the warehouse, but far from it. As Zerona had explained, everything was connected. It rarely ended with one nest; there were always networks upon networks, and stamping out one inevitably led to another nest rising up. A daunting task, but if it meant getting back at those who had taken the life of the one most dear to me, then it was worth it.

​"Your friend just arrived," whispered Grey. I couldn't see her, but I knew she was sulking. Neither she nor Jedi B had forgiven me for what Zerona had caused, but I didn't care. We did what needed to be done, and nobody was going to convince me otherwise.

​Thanks to her heads up, I didn't so much as twitch when Detective Mentark approached, throwing a file full of paper sheets. Taking a sip, I turned my gaze towards him, watching, waiting. His brown eyes bore into my own black orbs, but he was the one to look away first.

​"You don't look well," he said. "Lost weight."

​I just shrugged. "Not hungry." I gestured at the file. "Looks like you've been busy."

​"I was going to say the same for you." J'arvis sat down, sighing. "No longer one for small talk, are you?"

​"There's no point to it and it simply wastes time. What's those files for, and why are they all hard copies?"

​He sighed again. "You've changed. Ever since Maxi died. You've gotten meaner, crueler. Now, don't get me wrong--" the Zabrak hastily added, raising his hands slightly in response to my bared teeth. "We still appreciate your tips, but this so-called mysterious vigilante, slaughtering over one hundred people and counting?" He shook his head. "It's getting harder and harder to convince people it's not you, Ross."

​"Don't call me that," I growled softly. "And I don't see why you're complaining, the vigilante is getting rid of all sorts of criminals and​ you got a promotion from mere beat cop."

​"Roshki." He leaned forward, for a moment stretching a hand out - before thinking better of it, and clasping them together. "I'm worried about you. I'm worried what this warpath you're on is going to do to you. I mean-- look​ at you! You're half starved, you never rest, you're..." J'arvis lowered his voice. "You've well surpassed being a mere serial killer, hell you're a mass murderer, basically. There's a darkness about you, and I don't like it."

​I gritted my teeth. "I am doing what is right, and in turn ridding this planet of filth and scum."

 

[Kyle Raymus]

Kyle sat in a small bar within Commenor space. He was here on buisiness concerned by the murder of several of the scum employed by the shrouded to gather intel about the area. He was really pissed off, as he found no leads yet. Yet, perhaps, this would be his lucky day. He sat at the outside tables of the little bar enjoying his Jawa Juice when an individual caught his eye. The being sat in a cloak, her face covered by a hood, and as such Kyle couldn't recognize her, but he could hear, though barely, what she was talking about to the man that just arrived.



​"You don't look well," he said. "Lost weight."

​I just shrugged. "Not hungry." I gestured at the file. "Looks like you've been busy."

​"I was going to say the same for you." J'arvis sat down, sighing. "No longer one for small talk, are you?"

​"There's no point to it and it simply wastes time. What's those files for, and why are they all hard copies?"

​He sighed again. "You've changed. Ever since Maxi died. You've gotten meaner, crueler. Now, don't get me wrong--" the Zabrak hastily added, raising his hands slightly in response to my bared teeth. "We still appreciate your tips, but this so-called mysterious vigilante, slaughtering over one hundred people and counting?" He shook his head. "It's getting harder and harder to convince people it's not you, Ross."

​"Don't call me that," I growled softly. "And I don't see why you're complaining, the vigilante is getting rid of all sorts of criminals and​ you got a promotion from mere beat cop."

​"Roshki." He leaned forward, for a moment stretching a hand out - before thinking better of it, and clasping them together. "I'm worried about you. I'm worried what this warpath you're on is going to do to you. I mean-- look​ at you! You're half starved, you never rest, you're..." J'arvis lowered his voice. "You've well surpassed being a mere serial killer, hell you're a mass murderer, basically. There's a darkness about you, and I don't like it."

​I gritted my teeth. "I am doing what is right, and in turn ridding this planet of filth and scum."

"So she's the mass murderer huh?" Kyle thought. This was indeed his lucky day. This would be getting interesting...

[member="Roshki Belawiiks"]

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

[member="Kyle Raymus"]

"Roshki, you--" J'arvis pinched the bridge of his nose. "Honestly? I gotta admit, there's quite a few people on the force who don't exactly feel a burning desire to bring you in, I'll admit--"

"Bring me in?" I sniffed. I knew what he was trying to do, and I'd already said too much. "Like you said, I've been supplying tips. Using my connections to give you guys probable cause. I can't help it someone's been beating you to the punch."

"Ross, look, we both know--"

"Know what? Have you got any evidence to tie me to this...this..." I waved my hand around. " 'Masked vigilante'? No, I bet you don't, and I'm willing to bet that those are blank," meaning the papers. Leaning forward, I said in a low voice. "Crime is a problem in this city. In this planet. In this galaxy. I'm just trying to help you out a little bit."

"Roshki, there are rules. There's reasons vigilantism is illegal! If we had everyone and their brother taking the law into their own hands, well--" The Zabrak ran a hand over his horns, looking incredibly tired. "As I said. We appreciate your tips. But your running around, murdering crim--"

"First of all, I am a highly qualified former Knight. I left the Order because I felt they were incompetent. But I am not. Trust me. Second, this is is what, the third time you've implied it's me. It's not." For a brief moment, I considered manipulating him, just a smudge, to believe me. A second later, guilt chased that idea away. The detective deserved better than that, and I respected him too much to go through with it.

Would it really be that bad?

Oh, hello Zerona.

Come now, she purred. Just a little push, and your darling detective can get off of our ass and devote his energy to more important work. You wouldn't want him to....impede us, would you?

Roshki... There was Grey. Jedi B stopped talking to me a while ago.

I'm not going to do it.

Roshki!

"Roshki! Hey!" I blinked, waving J'arvis's hand away from my face.

"What?"

He gave me a concerned look. I scowled at him in return. "I was just saying, we may not have hard evidence, but we've got plenty of circumstantial bits. Here, look." The detective pushed me the file. On the front I saw my name, and I had a flashback to....to that night.

"I have a report?" He nodded, and I opened the file. Inside were the usual bits, like my name, (old) address, species, things of that nature. But in the back...

Spreading the photos on the table, I scowled. "You're right, this is circumstantial. I'm not the only Togruta on Commenor!"

J'arvis tapped one of them, where the hooded figure held a saberstaff, with two magenta blades. "Yeah, but how many other Togruta on Commenor have this kinda weapon, and know how to wield it?"

"At least a thousand, for all you know," I shot back. "Seriously! Where's the face? Huh? The tattoos? Maybe I've got an impos--"

Roshki.

I suddenly stopped, my spine tingling. "You get the feeling we're being watched?"

 

[Kyle Raymus]

Kyle silently stood up, leaving the credits for the unfinished Jawa Juice on the table. He started walking into a narrow street, silently activating his communicator and hissing into it: "Bader, prep the fighters, we found our target." Kyle hunted his targets, unlike normal hunters, from the cockpit of his fighter. He was a pack animal, and as such, atleast 3 other members of Talon Squadron tagged along for the hunt. Kyle continued walking calmly along the thin streets, all the while transmiting his co-ordinates to his squad members. He was passing a nightclub when he heard a familiar humming. The humming of his RZ-110's engines.Their sound was unique. Kyle knew it like his own voice. The fighter came down beside him as 3 other identical black fighters with orange markings passed overhead. The ship barely fit into the street, but his Astromech was a great pilot. R9D6 landed the ship right near his master. The cockpit hissed open with the pleaseant hiss of oxygen escaping from a container through a small hole. Kyle quickly climbed in and took off, joining with the rest of the squadron, taking his rightful place at the head of the formation. The fighters approached the bar that Kyle had been to earlier and froze at about 100 metres above it, targeting one of the tables, specifically, the one that the hooded figure and her advisor sat at. Each fighter fired a burst of laser bolts, devastating the table. As for the target, they had to wait and see. The area was clad in so much smoke, that even the infra-red scanners couldn't see through it. Kyle scanned the area for the hooded Twi'lek, but couldn't find her, yet...


[member="Roshki Belawiiks"]

 

[Roshki Belawiiks]

[member="Kyle Raymus"]

"What? Why?" I had to give J'arvis credit. Even in the face of my obviously deteriorating mental state (Hey! Yeah... No comment.) he still had faith in my abilities.

"Just...trust me. See anyone?"

Both of us began to search the area around us, when the detective leaned in and whispered, "There. Don't look just yet, but it's a human in a long trench coat. He'll be passing us shortly."

Without a word, I picked up my glass and waited for him to walk by, my dark eyes flicking to and away from him until I could no longer see the man. "Hmm..." That was interesting. My sense of danger still didn't dissipate, making me anxious. "Where were we? Oh, right. You were accusing me of a crime you're not even sure I committed. Despite all I've done to help you."

"I'm not accusing you of anything." The Zabrak reached out to grab my hand. I stared at it for a moment, then pulled away. As I did, I sensed a twinge of...something...coming from the man before me, and I looked back up in mild surprise. That was not an emotion I was expecting from the stoic investigator. "I'm trying to get to the bottom of this, and I'm trying to help you. I mean-- You went AWOL the night that--" The look in my eyes warned him not to say it. For a second, he looked like he was seriously reconsidering his sentence. "That Maxi died. There. I said it. You can't run from it. You have to face it."

"Who made you my parent?" I snapped back, a slither of anger crawling up my back. My lips drawn back in a snarl, I hissed, "You know nothing of what it's like to lose family, much less a child! And yes, Maxi was my child! I raised him from birth and nurtured him the whole time, he was my baby and those-- those drivelling scum took him away from me! So don't you dare assume to know what I'm going through! You know nothing, J'arvis Mentark!" People were starting to look at us, but I didn't care. My tolerance for this meeting was slowly plummeting.

Detective Mentark was looking at me with a pained expression, fighting to control his emotions which, by the way, had suddenly turned into messy, goopy soup. They were an absolute whirlwind, causing me to lean back and return his expression with a mystified look of my own. Surely that shouldn't have hit a nerve? Unless--

I jerked my head up, eyes wide as the screech of starfighters softly began to build. Maybe it's just coincidental with the dude who left,I thought. Maybe it's just a routine patrol, or gearing up for a game tonight.

Nope.

Well, chit. Letting out a string of curses, I stood up. My eyes quickly locked on to the approaching squadron, then looked around. Once upon a time, I would have sought to save all of these people from the fate that was almost certain to descend upon them. But now, I only cared for myself.

That's it...

...and maybe the detective.

Idiot!

Oh shut up and help me find an escape! I fired back. On command, Grey appeared and pointed to a large metal circle near the road. "There," she said. "Looks to be a manhole."

"Perfect."

"What?" The look of pain had quickly transformed into bewilderment at my behaviour, which was only exacerbated by the approaching squad. "Roshki, these people--!"

"There's no time!" I grabbed him and used all my strength to pull him with me, leaving the file -- and couple dozen people -- to their fate.

"Roshki no!"

"Roshki yes." Using the Force, I lifted the cover, tossed him in, and jumped after him. The lid had barely settled when the walls of the sewer rumbled with the pounding of blasts on the small cafe. I landed on my feet as dust and water covered us. Above, sirens began to wail alongside the few citizens who'd survived. Even without the Force, I could tell it was bad. And yet, I had no sympathy. What was done was done, and I couldn't help it that some idiot decided to go full-assault for little old me. Although...

I turned on the detective, my saberstaff jumping into my hands and igniting with the familiar snap-hiss. "What the hell was that?!"

He raised his hands in a show of surrender. "Why do you think I know?"

"Gee, I don't know, probably because it's impossible for someone to pull that stunt without clearance, and you were the only one who was supposed to know about our meeting?!"

"Roshki, please." His brown eyes bore into mine. "Do you really think we'd sacrifice myself and all of those civilians just to get you? Believe it or not but we haven't reached the 'Wanted Dead or Alive' phase yet."

I stared at him for a long time. On the one hand, Z was urging me to kill him off - he could be lying, and would only slow us down. But Jedi B was telling me to spare him, and honestly? I couldn't help but agree. "Fine." Holding my lightsaber up to get a better view, I asked, "Now what?"

 

[Arekk]

COMMENOR​

Above Huttball Smash Café, Anteluma​

The loud engines of the Jedi's A/Y-92 "Aquila" Starfighter echoed throughout Commenor airspace as it fired its laser cannons against the trio of RZ-110s that had launched a massive attack against a small café filled with neutral civilians, many of them children. Their deadly barrage claimed not only innocent adult lives but of children and babies who had a whole life ahead of them and thanks to their reckless engagement they would no longer see the day. Luckily, the Togruta that Ar'ekk had been commended to find had managed to make her way out of the incoming fire and hid in a secure position before the RZ-110s turned around for another rapid-fire demonstration.

He maneuvered the starfighter with quite ease due to his previous experience as a pilot and infantry veteran during the war in Malachor V years ago. His attacks were calculated and the movements in the air were executed with precision to avoid being shot at, keeping an eye out on the Togruta and providing air support during her escape. Ar'ekk continued to offer covering fire against the trio of RZ-110s flying over the café until she could move safely but this wouldn't last long due to being clearly outnumbered.

It was time to move and they eventually did, both the Togruta and the man sitting in front of her by jumping into some sort of manhole that was covered the entire time. Hopefully, Ar'ekk would have enough time to rendevouz with him as he received heavy fire from the other starfighters.

[member="Kyle Raymus"] | [member="Roshki Belawiiks"]