Slow Your Roll, Kid

[Vaulkhar]

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Coruscant
The Underworld
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Coruscant was a strange world. A planet's ecosystem often changed, shifting in some way or another to keep things fresh. Coruscant did not follow the typical rules of a normal world. A massive city spanned across the entirety of the world, dotted with factories, markets, and various other locations of interest. Centuries had come and past, with only the people who called it home changing. Over a dozen separate factions had controlled the city-planet within the last one hundred years and it was unlikely any one group would lay claim to it for longer than a few years at most. Due to the abnormality surrounding Coruscant, many could come and disappear among its underworld without being found again.

Ven hated Coruscant.

A cold, gray mask haunted his dreams whenever he returned to Coruscant. Though he could not remember his past on the planet, it was said he lived there for many years in service to the One Sith. Unsurprisingly, he knew even less about the One Sith than he did the world who housed them, but it wasn't relevant given his reasons for venturing there in the first place. Outside of the nightmares that assailed him, he dreamt of a storm that rocked through the underworld. Chaos followed the storm, resulting in death unprecedented.

Shaking his head, Ven veered the speeder bike deeper into the city. He lifted a hand and activated the communications device resting within his ear.

"H, can you hear me?"

"Yes, master. I am tracking your position from the ship. Have you had any luck in your quest to stop this storm?"

"Unfortunately not, pal. There a bar anywhere nearby? I need a drink."

"Take your next left, master. You'll find the Rusted Chalice halfway up the block."

"Thanks H, stay safe," Ven cut the transmission and dove down several dozen meters. In the seconds leading up to crashing into the ground below, Ven pulled up last second and raced parallel to the filth strewn streets. Following the directions given to him, he pulled up and cut the bike's engine in front the cantina. Garbage piled up on the corners of the building, though most of the people seemed entirely unphased by it. Some wandered in, some wandered out, all of them as filthy as the street. He looked away from the building and down the street, a sigh escaping him as he took a step away from the bike.

 

[Raena]

“Wow, look at that thing!” Exclaimed a small voice.

“That’sa cost a whole ten credits, at least.” Another replied.

Raene looked down at the two street rats with restrained amusement. It was almost adorable how naive they were. If not just slightly annoying to boot. “Please. A speeder like that? Try hundreds. Alright guys,” she kneeled down to their level, her eyes alight with mischief. “Remember what we talked about. You get those keys, I’ll the ride. Meet me by the docks by midnight and there’s a warm meal in it for you. Got it?”

They grinned back at her, giving her a two-fingered salute.

She nodded back, taking out a ball. “Go fetch!” She tossed it down the street. The kids scattered after it, laughing as they kicked it about. One deft kick sent it right through Ven’s leg’s as he approached his destination.

“Hey mister!” A small form collided into him, going full speed. And tangling with his legs in an attempt to make them fall. “Ah, man, watch out, Wight!” His friend called, running over and grabbing at the giggling boy. Street urchins, am I right? “Sorry mister, are you aight?”

All the while Raene took this as a chance to approach the speeder and slip on, chewing at her lip as she used a few tugs of the force to.... vroooom. She glanced over her shoulders with a grin, winking at the kids as the speeder roared to life under her.

 

[Vaulkhar]

Ven hummed faintly to himself as he moved towards the bar entrance. At the midway point a small body collided with his right leg and awkwardly fell around the six-foot jedi. His back leg slid back to maintain his balance as he reached down to grip the young boy's shoulders. There was no malice behind the action, which became abundantly clear as Ven helped keep the smaller boy on his feet.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Sorry about that, kid. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going," Ven nodded to each of them before turning towards the bar once more. Inches from the door a familiar sound called for his attention. "Today of all days? Really?" his words came out a whisper, masked by the speeder's engine. He turned to face his bike with high hopes; hopes that were quickly crushed as the young woman atop it winked at the two kids hurrying away down the street. "C'mon, I'm not really in t-" his momentary plea was cut off as the speeder picked up speed and raced off down the street. Reaching up to his commlink once more, he activated it. "Someone took my bike, H. Track its location."

"What will you be doing, master?"

Ven peered up at the various speeders coasting above him.

"Finding another ride," Ven took a deep breath and summoned the force around him. It was a familiar ally, one who grew used to his beckon and call. With it's aid he leaped up to a small ledge fifty feet above him before pushing off into the sky once more. His feet made contact with the roof of a shuttle racing through the Underworld. "This is reaaaaalllly going to suck," with a level of precision and skill befitting only a master, Ven traversed the airborne traffic one speeder at a time. As he lost sight of his bike racing off in the distance he moved to the rooftops. His body blurred as the world seemed to slow around him. Like a bullet, Ven flew across the Coruscant cityscape without slowing.

"I've located your speeder, master. It appears to be going north-west."

"Good, keep me updated," Ven shifted directions and continued his pursuit. Breaking past one intersection, he freefell a dozen feet before landing atop another speeder a few dozen feet behind Raena. He reached out with the force, pressing into her mind with a telepathic message. "You aren't getting away from me, kid."

 

[Raena]

Raene startled, the speeder jerking and dropping a solid ten feet before she regain control and leveled it properly. Others zoom’d by her, spared an almost crash as she cursed and looked wildly around her.

“What the!” She exclaimed, making eye contact with Vaulkhar. Her heart stuttered a beat at the incomprehensible sight of a the man behind her, and standing on someone else’s speeder to boot!

Shit. Stealing from outsiders was always such a crapshoot.

Still, she couldn’t help but to feel a bit of thrill at the challenge. This could be a bit of fun? She grinned at him, revving the engine at the prospect. She turned back around and hit the speed, relying on her reflexes to start weaving through the traffic at nothing short of a dangerous pattern.

“Come ooooon, mama’s hungry,” she coaxed to the speeder, driving it faster, pushing it towards its max. All the while she weaved and dodged, pressing luck and turning abruptly into a tunnel. Horns flared in protest. She leveled outside of it, her stomach pressed into her rib cage as she scrapped by with barely a scratch. She walloped with delight, a grin on her face as she glanced back once more.

That had to shake him.