Chance Encounter (Titan 27-5 Codename: "Atlas")

[Kohai Drenn]

Kohai Drenn maneuvered her way through the crowd of people standing around outside a fancy restaurant She stood on her toes, peering over shoulders, trying to find a landmark of some kind. Not making any headway, she sighed, backing up against a metal wall, sliding down into a seated position.

She dug into her pockets, pulling up a holomap of the district. With a swipe of her hand, she zoomed into her position, getting her bearings. She had to get to a spaceport, but she kept getting turned around. after finding the general direction, she got back on her feet, setting off again. Grow up on one city planet, get lost on another. Nice going, girl.

After a solid hour, she came across her fifth dead end. Kohai kicked a waste receptacle into the wall in frustration, this was getting ridiculous! She turned around, only to be faced by four large men. The small one stepped forward, a twinkle upon a gold tooth signifying a nasty grin.

He spoke with an unpleasant, nasally voice, "Ya lost, girly?"

[member="Atlas"]

 

[Atlas]

Just another evening stroll in the city, well it would be if Atlas had a clue where he was. Cities? Planets? Nothing really had any significance to him. All he remembered was waking up. He had some fragments of memories, but nothing tangible. He knew that he was well trained, but all of that was second nature, more reflex than anything. He didn't remember the training exactly, but his body moved and reacted more on it's own rather than under his own control.

Upon escaping from the facility that Atlas had woken up in with his batch brother, it been decided that the two should split up since together they were an easier target to track down. Not that either of them knew who was hunting them as they were unsure of their own origin due to the forced amnesia they had endured.
This had been where he had been dropped off. Atlas was more adept at stealth and infiltration, so it had been decided that his batch brother, Deimos would take the hijacked ship, leaving Atlas to fend for himself.

Atlas had stuffed his armor and weapons inside of a large black duffle bag and had it slung over his back. He wore his armor weave jumpsuit under a utility jumpsuit.
As he passed an alley way, he heard voices echoing off the walls. Something tingled in Atlas' spine so he turned into the alley and followed the sound of the voices. As he got closer, he controlled his foot steps making them silent. From the sounds of the voices, the owners of said voices were around the next corner.

Atlas unslung his bag and stowed it behind some garbage receptacles. Then, sliding along the wall, he peeked around the corner.
He saw the backs of four men, their statures were aggressive. They were corralling a young female with blonde hair. The smallest of the four stepped forward and spoke with a nasally voice "Ya lost, girly?"
Atlas felt his heartbeat quicken, the adrenaline started pumping. He wasn't sure why, he had never met this girl before, but he felt a strong sense of protectiveness well up inside....[member="Kohai Drenn"]

 

[Kohai Drenn]

Kohai backed up against the wall, eyeing the group carefully. "What can I say? All these walls look alike." She felt for her blaster, but found nothing. She hadn't brought it with her to Nar Shaddaa! Kohai closed her hands into tight fists, she couldn't allow them to shake now. "Is that why you're here? Took the same wrong turn I did?"

The man who spoke took a step forward, his hand overtly resting upon the blaster by his hip. "Came for you. Ya seem clean, well fed. I'd wager you have credits." His eyes briefly trailed downwards. "I know ya got somethin' I want."

At that, the three others began advancing, not saying a word. They came to a stop behind the first man, effectively towering over him. While the speaker seemed almost unintimidating in contrast, they still managed to block all view of her escape. "I've got nothing for you sleemo, so step back!" She raised her voice now, maybe she could get them distracted, or at least keep them talking.

No such luck. There were no words to be said, the leader swung a meaty right hook her way, but hit only air. Kohai had ducked down low, reaching her right hand quickly into her boot, the other digging into one of the satchels on her belt. Before the man could make any further moves, she shot up to her full height, slamming the top of her head against his chin.

Without checking to see the damage she had done, she drove the ten inch knife from her boot into the man's thigh, compounding his injuries. His voice reached an alarmingly high pitch as she twisted the knife, only stopping when the man to his left grabbed her wrist roughly, pulling it, and the knife, away. She then brought her left hand towards the hand on her right wrist. She jabbed the inside of the man's elbow with her macrofuser, the searing effect immediately causing him to release his hold.

Kohai was almost feeling optimistic. She had caused major bleeding to one attacker, and burnt another to the bone. Not taking any chances, she kicked off the wall behind her taking off in a sprint. She did not get far.

One of the unharmed men grabbed a handful of her ponytail. Before she could even scream, she was yanked off her feet. Another took hold of her throat, slamming her back against the wall. She didn't feel much of the impact, she had cracked her skull on the metal. Their cursing sounded as if it were far away, and the blotches between the neon were spreading across her vision. She was passing out.

Dammit! Not... now...

[member="Atlas"]

 

[Atlas]

They converged on her. In a matter of seconds the would be victim had disabled two of the attackers, one nursing a stab wound and the other a 3rd degree burn. Sh tried to make a run for it, but the other two assailants caught her. One of the thugs grabbed her by the throat flung her up against the wall.

Atlas exploded into action. Both attackers had their backs to the corner that Atlas was hiding behind so they were unaware of the figure speeding towards them.
His training kicked in, he was on autopilot. There was no thinking, only action.
Coming up behind the thug who had the woman by the throat, Atlas grabbed his head with both hands and rotated sharply to the right. There was a sickening crack as his vertebrate was snapped. The thug went limp and fell lifeless to the floor. The other assailant was stunned, but manged to attempt a right hook aimed for Atlas' face. Atlas caught the incoming fist with his right hand and then made a bladed chop with his left arm against the elbow of the assailant. The force of the chop hyper extended the man's arm and it snapped. He fell to the floor, howling in pain as he held his arm which was now bending in a way that it wasn't meant to.

A quick scan revealed that there were no more attackers so Atlas turned his attention toward the woman who had slumped down against the wall and looked dazed. He knelt down in front of her and asked "Are you ok?"
[member="Kohai Drenn"]

 

[Kohai Drenn]

"Are you ok?"

Beyond distant agonized howling, Kohai could swear she heard a new voice. She tried lifting her head up, trying to find it's source, to no success. The colors of the alleyway were bleeding together, and her ears seemed to be ringing.

Bringing a shaky hand up to the back of her head, she could feel something warm and sticky coating the back of her neck. All she could think about was her splitting headache, and that it would be absolute hell to get that stain out of her headband. She let out a slow groan. "Wha-... What hit me?"

Things were getting a little clearer, the rational part of her brain taking bigger steps. Her eyes focused on a figure standing in front of her. No... kneeling in front of her... she wasn't standing.
[member="Atlas"]

 

[Atlas]

She was conscious, though stunned. At least that was the assessment that Atlas made. Once she started moving, Atlas saw the blood on the back of her head. Fortunately, she was conscious enough to speak. Atlas responded to inquiry. "A coward hit you. Wait here, I have medical supplies in my bag." His tone was matter of fact and militaristic, almost free of emotion.

He stood up and retrieved his bag from around the corner and then returned to injured woman. He pulled a medkit from his bag and grabbed a 4x4 cloth and handed it to her "Hold this on the back of your head and apply pressure, it should stop the bleeding." Next he grabbed a bactastim. He popped the cap and stuck the syringe in her neck, releasing the healing agents into her blood stream. She should start feeling better not long after the injection.
He looked her in the eye "Can you stand?"
They needed to get out of the area before either the authorities, or more thugs showed up.
[member="Kohai Drenn"]

 

[Kohai Drenn]

Kohai took the man's offered cloth, holding it tightly against her head. She couldn't help but wince, it really stung, but it made sense to stop the bleeding. After a moment, she opened her eyes, muttering a quiet thank you to the man.

She looked back up, making eye contact with her rescuer. "Can you stand?"

Kohai nodded in the affirmative, pressing her free hand against the wall behind her as she shakily rose to her feet. After a moment, she let out a steadying breath. "Okay... I'm okay. We should get out of here..." She trailed off. Kohai was sure she didn't have to tell this man that neither the authorities or any back-up these guys had would be happy about their situation.

She moved past the stranger, making a point to stop on one of the men she'd managed to hurt as she made her way to the alley exit. As she got to the corner, she stopped, looking back, "Um, where should we go?"

 

[Atlas]

He stayed close to her as she stood up and began walking, He was ready to catch her if she fell.
They made their way out of the dead end alleyway, stopping at the corner. Atlas responded.
"We should make our way to a crowded area. A cafe or cantina. It's easier to hide from thugs like this if we are surrounded by witnesses"

He re-slung his bag over his shoulder and nodded towards the exit. "After you."
[member="Kohai Drenn"]

 

[Kohai Drenn]

Kohai started walking, trying to make it look like she knew where she was going. When the duo finally found themselves in a densely crowded area, she leaned against a nearby wall, allowing herself to slide into a seated position. Pulling out her holomap, Kohai slid her hand across the floating image, drawing up her current location. She was, however, having a hard time zeroing in on the map. Shaking her head quickly, she cleared the ringing in her ears, finding a café reasonable close by.

Huh... who knew a place like this would even have cafés? Pushing herself back to her feat, she turned to her companion. "Okay. We're going this way." She pointed towards the throng of people, and a transit shuttle in the distance.
[member="Atlas"]

 

[Atlas]

Atlas followed her through the crowd, she seemed to be feeling a little better, at least well enough to walk.
When they stopped momentarily, He noticed a duo of dark clothed men stopping also stopping. Atlas took a mental note of them as they could possibly be a tail.
The young blonde was moving again. She led the way to a transit shuttle. Atlas got in after her and sat next to the window. Again, he saw the same two men hurrying to a transit shuttle of their own. Atlas was feeling more sure that they were tailing them. But were they after him? Or her?
Atlas hoped it wasn't for him. If it was, things were about to get very dangerous.

The shuttle took off, but Atlas didn't mention the tail, he didn't want to worry the woman.
[member="Kohai Drenn"]

 

[Kohai Drenn]

The transit would only take a few minutes. Kohai leaned back, resting her sore head against the half-way comfortable synthetic leather of the seats. Well... This was certainly exciting, huh? She directed her attention to the man currently sharing a shuttle with her, trying to discern a clue to his identity from his appearance.

He kept his brown hair cut short, high and tight, she believed the term was. This could mean he was military, or ex military, it would certainly explain what happened to those goons. Taking a closer look, she studies his face. He looked young, relatively speaking, with a clean shave and gray eyes. He also had a very stern set to his jaw. He's nervous... I wonder why. We got away.

Kohai kicked the man lightly in the shin, getting his attention. "So... what's your name? I'd like to know who saved my butt, after all."

[member="Atlas"]

 

[Atlas]

The ride was smooth, but Atlas was far from relaxed. He refrained from looking over his shoulder to make it obvious that he was looking for the two men tailing. So he just relied on his peripheral vision. One, he didn't want to alarm the young blonde, and two, he didn't want to tip off the two tailing them that he was onto them.

A light kick to the shin cause him to jerk slightly. His reflexes wanted him to react and attack whatever just assaulted him, but he controlled himself and met her green eyes with his own dull grey. She asked for his name. He looked down, if only she knew how profound that question was. All he could ever remember was being a number, a designation, a codename. But never a real name. He met her gaze again and replied.
"....I don't..... I don't have a name. But you can call me Atlas. That's what was on my bacta tank when I woke up." [member="Kohai Drenn"]

Atlas was unaware how strange his response sounded in a normal social setting, as he was the furthest thing from normal.

 

[Kohai Drenn]

Eyebrows raising in confusion, Kohai leaned forward a bit, resting her elbows upon her knees. "Did you say bacta tank? Were you injured? And what do you mean you don't have a name? Everybody has a name... right?"

Kohai bit her lip, she really needed to learn when to shut up. This man appeared to have some lapse in his memory, having forgotten his own identity. If that was the case, she was being pretty darn insensitive just plugging away at him like that...

After a wordless moment, Kohai extended her hand towards him, making for a handshake. "Well, my name is Kohai. Kohai Drenn."
[member="Atlas"]

 

[Atlas]

Atlas didn't have an abundance of answers for her, he himself didn't know.
"I was asleep, and I woke up in a bacta tank. That's all I know. I'm sure I was injured before, but I wasn't when I woke up."

He took her hand and returned the shake. "Nice to meet you Kohai. So, why were those thugs after you?" [member="Kohai Drenn"]
Hopefully she would tell him something that would suggest that the men following them were after her. If not.....Well, lets just hope.

 

[Kohai Drenn]

Bringing a finger to her lips, Kohai speculated briefly, before shrugging. "I'm not sure... I'd just assumed that it was 'cause I'm a girl..." She shuddered at the thought. "Other than that... I can't really think of anything."

She gave [member="Atlas"] an easy smile. "It doesn't really matter, anyway, right?" They were nearing the nearest entertainment district, a small café would be about a block away.

 

[Atlas]

She had just confirmed his worst fears. They were after him, and now she was a target by default by merely being in his proximity. Atlas was tired of running, he wanted to know who 'they' were. If he could find that out, maybe he could switch roles in this cat and mouse game.

He gave her a forced smile "No, it doesn't. They were scum anyways" [member="Kohai Drenn"]

The shuttle landed and Atlas guided them into middle of the crowd of people and moved with them.
Looking down at Kohai he asked "Which cafe was it?"

 

[Kohai Drenn]

Jutting a finger towards their destination, Kohai spoke up, "I think that's it, right there." At that, she began took off, heedless of [member="Atlas"] position. She began moving through the crowd towards the café. Having grown up on a city planet, she had no trouble maneuvering the dense throng of people milling about.

She entered the establishment, finding a seat in a relatively well-placed booth facing both the door and the fresher. As she plopped down, she picked up a menu. She didn't really want to risk eating any of the so-called 'café food', but it kept her hands busy.

 

[Atlas]

He let her led the way as they made their way through the crowd and eventually into the cafe. She moved to the corner booth which had a good view of the cafe, Atlas himself couldn't have picked a better seat.

It take long for the two men to enter the cafe and take a seat at the front counter. The were good, but Atlas was better. He knew they wouldn't make a move with so many people around, which meant they had time. Might as well order food.

As they waited for the server droid to arrive, Atlas scanned the room. He located the side door, as well as the entrance to the kitchen, which would have a back door. He tucked his bag under the table at his feet. [member="Kohai Drenn"]

 

[Kohai Drenn]

Making a snap decision, Kohai decided she was starving. When was the last time she'd actually sat down to eat... A while, certainly.

She wasn't aware of the eyes upon them from the front counter, so she was actually finding herself in relatively high spirits. "So... [member="Atlas"] ... What are you gonna get, do ya think?" She gestured to the menu, not even know what half of this stuff was. Coffee, though... definitely...

Kohai pulled her scarf from around her neck, coiling it up on the seat next to her. She then pulled her suspenders off of her shoulders, she was sitting anyway. She rolled her shoulders back, getting a satisfying crack for her trouble.

 

[Atlas]

Kohai's question brought his attention back to her. He hadn't even looked at the menu.
He shrugged and picked it up and browsed through the many options.

One thing he had learned since he had woken up, was that he had an extremely high metabolism, so when he ate, it was in large quantities, enough to make most people disgusted.
He pointed at three different menu items, all of which were entrees, and said "I'm getting that, that and that. What about you?" [member="Kohai Drenn"]