Artur (Γ013)
einsamkeit
So many people to get lost in, but so many people to deal with. The eternal struggle of Artur's travels through the galaxy, or so it seemed; anywhere worth stopping to hide away was such because it was utterly full of people, of all types through the galaxy. Cantoi was no different—predominantly human, unsurprisingly, with some members of other species. Constantly moving about, many to work, or to the training that was expected on such a militarily-focused planet, or the few travellers and traders that were stopped groundside for the time being. At least it wasn't as bad as Nar Shaddaa—even the urban sprawl of Hycantoi Prime's outermost ring wasn't nearly so packed, and most everybody was inclined to leave everybody else alone.
The occasional look of suspicion, clearly noting him as an outsider, was the most he usually had to deal with.
Usually.
The pair of lower-class Hycantoi that had managed to corner him in a dead-end alley seemed to have other ideas, unfortunately, although without any knowledge of the sign language that marked a citizen from a non-citizen, he had no clue just what they were communicating to each other. Guesses, but no outright knowledge.
"Please, understand, I don't wish any trouble," he said quietly, hands held out, placatingly, palms up and open. Not for the first time since he landed a few days ago he was wishing he had access to the second ring of the city—cleaner, roomier, and more reliant upon actual policing than simple distractions like pleasure dens and cantinas. However harsh the laws were, however cruel the punishments, at least it would prove a deterrent to men such as these. "I haven't a thing on me, truly, you're wasting your ti—"
"Quiet, peregrinus," one of them snapped at him, as both produced vibrodaggers. The slugthrower pistols at their belts remained holstered, knowing that such a loud report would immediately draw whatever law was present to the location faster than they could get away. Assuming they couldn't just bribe any police to look the other way...in this outer ring, they likely could. Artur's stomach sank in the moment; while he wasn't particularly worried about what might happen to him—even if close combat was never his specialty, he still had numerous advantages in speed and strength over these two—it was exactly the sort of trouble he was hoping to avoid.
But, perhaps, if he could make it look like they killed each other...unsanctioned, spontaneous honor duels weren't exactly common on Cantoi, but not uncommon enough to be looked at with any manner of suspicion, just mild curiosity. He drew one foot back, leaning away from the two. "This isn't worth the energy," he pleaded with them, one last time. As expected, he was ignored; both lunged at him, knives forward, aiming to bury them in his chest. He stepped quickly off to the right, left hand shooting out and grabbing the wrist of one of the assailants before that one could back away. The other rounded around, this time stabbing towards Artur's back.
Neither expected the speed with which he could turn, lifting the first with ease, the vibrodagger getting buried in that one's lung. He whirled around again, throwing the hand of the one he held, still clutching the vibrodagger in a death grip, outwards. The dagger slashed through the throat of the second, and both collapsed in a heap as Artur quickly leaped away, narrowly avoiding getting covered in any of the blood spray.
Minimal sound, no witnesses nearby, and bleeding out with a collapsed lung, the one that had been stabbed in the back had no way to call out for help. He stood, looking down at the man for a moment; to leave him there would be to consign that one to an agonizing death, as he gradually began to drown on his own blood, but what choice did he have? A mercy kill would make it obvious that this wasn't the random act of honor that he wanted to make it out to be, to avoid a manhunt. "I did tell you it wasn't worth it," he said apologetically, as the dying man clawed himself over to the body of his ally. "If you've any sense at all, you'll take that knife and bury it in your heart. It'll be faster...less painful."
The man hacked out a wet, gurgling cough, more blood joining the puddle around the pair, and Artur turned to the wall he'd been backed up against. Leaping upwards, he grabbed at some handholds he found, and scrambled up and over it, into a different alley, to make his way back to the cantina he'd been staying at.
A few minutes later, and he'd made his way back to his current abode. The Legionary's Rest was enjoying an unprecedented surge in popularity, thanks in part to having become a much cleaner and safer establishment than it had been before. Situated so close to one of the city's major space ports, close enough that the police of Hycantoi Prime preferred to just ignore it and chalk up any trouble to unruly foreigners, it had always been a fairly rough and tumble place to try and find a drink. Moreso after the fall of the CIS. Until Artur, in return for nothing more than room and board in the apartment over the cantina, agreed to help keep an eye out and keep the place calm. His size alone—even as comparitively thin as he was, he still towered over most residents of the planet—was generally enough to ensure compliance among the rowdiest of patrons. If not, he'd demonstrated more than once how easily he could throw them out the door.
In just a few days, the reputation of the cantina had improved significantly, and combined with it maintaining itself as a cheap place to go and get a drink and something to eat, business had rapidly picked up. Enough so that the owner-operator of the place, Kostis, had managed to hire on a dedicated bouncer earlier that day. He'd even passed along a few hundred credits Artur's way, as an added thank you with the promise for more if he should help give the bouncer a bit extra training in the least harmful ways to deal with some of the patrons, rather than defaulting to the Cantoi Military Police (TM) standard he'd been trained to use.
Now, though, he had an actual night off. So, with a plate of roast nerf, a bowl of whatever Kostis's soup of the day was, and a glass of water, Artur tucked himself into a back corner booth. Somewhere he could easily keep an eye on everything to help out, but hopefully avoid being directly accosted again like he was earlier in the day. He just wanted to be able to eat in peace.
Kalyn Shif
Julia (Γ101)
