Private The World Is Ours [Maran]

[Lukan Rath]

As Lukan and Maran walked side by side through the nightclub, moving slowly at their own pace, he kept an eye out on those around them while also hearing the nervousness in Maran's voice.

Truth be told, he didn't think anyone from the Temple would have made it this far given how he'd been pretty upfront and honest about his plans compared to how he normally would have operated, yet here she was despite her obviously being scared, still with him for the ride within the base-thumping labyrinth of ecstasy filled people.

"Look for the one's smoking and seated. Their eyes will look dulled, almost lost and they'll be blowing out smoke. The drinkers will be hyped up, really talkative and speaking much louder than the others. Basically, we're looking for the lazy smokers" Luke glanced to Maran, gauging her for any sign that she might up and turn-tail on him.

Honestly, he felt a little bad for her, yet he buried that sympathy in the face of their coming adventure. She'd chosen to come with him, so she must still be up for it, he told himself in his head.

 

[Maran]

Panic. Her heart was pounding in her ears as they walked through the club, her eyes scanning over everyone. They were Jedi, they should be fine. But what if someone decided to attack them? She didn't have a real lightsaber. It wasn't going to actually do anything. Worse, she didn't really even know how to use it. Now she was just regretting never learning how to. Relying on her trick to slip through the lessons was a terrible choice.

She wanted to run. But there was no where she could. She was trapped here, in the underbelly of Coruscant. If she left, she'd get lost. She knew she would.

Maran forced another smile that never reached her eyes as she nodded. Look for the lazy smokers. Find them, then they could leave. That was the only choice now. Her gaze shifted, scanning through the crowd. Were they staring? It felt like they were staring. Oh Force they were staring at them!

Until one wasn't. Smoke. Lazy expression. She practically threw her hand their direction before catching herself. Don't make a scene. Don't pull anymore eyes.

"T.. Them?"

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

"Perfect" Lukan smirked widely, taking Maran by the hand and moving towards the booth where the stoned-out Ikotchi was seated.

"Hey there" Lukan spoke far more casually than he had to the previous bouncer, once again back in his element without all the annoying pretentious formalities; "Mind if we sit with you? Think I got something you'd be interested in".

"Now why the kark would I want to chill with a couple o' scrawny kids like y'all" The Ikotchi retorted with a thick accent, cocking his head sideways and giving the two a doubtful glare.

Lowering his voice, Lukan moved to sit regardless while pulling Maran down with him and replying softly "Because you look like someone who could make use of a few Jedi goods that I just happen to be selling on the fly, including a couple of their light swords, my man".

The Ikotchi suddenly sat upright a little more, moving then to lean forward with his elbows pressed against the table studying Lukan closely. "That's a pretty big claim to just throw at someone you know nothing about...You're full of it..." He called Lukan's bluff, yet didn't sound entirely convinced.

Turning to pull the bag from over his shoulder, Luke opened it up, placing it side down on the table with the items all in view of the Ikotchi. "Two lightsabers. Three Datapads. A Jedi Holocron and a few more than interesting data chips. All yours for seventeen kays". The lightsabers were training variants, but the Ikotchi wouldn't know the difference unless he tried to actually use one of them in a fight. Which he wouldn't in a place like this....Atleast not while they were still there.

"Holy shit, kid....-What in the" the Ikotchi exclaimed before glancing around to those closest of them, obviously searching for any sign of a setup or law enforcement. He didn't see anything eye catching. There was nothing to tell him this was a play. "Twelve kay, and you got yourself a deal".

"Get outta here. Fifteen atleast. That holocron has information only the Jedi know about and those lightsabers are mint condition. I may be a kid but don't play me like that" Lukan scoffed, almost sounding annoyed. Gods, he enjoyed this. The thrill, the risk and the danger, it was all right there and he was thriving within it all.

 

[Maran]

If not for the fact Lukan took her hand, she probably wouldn't of even followed. Or would have? Standing alone in a place like this seemed just as terrifying as going with him. At least he took away the choice. Maran couldn't even meet the man's gaze. She stared down at the table, shied behind Lukan as much as she could. She was done being here. They were talking. Making a deal. That sounded like a lot of money- Wait, lightsabers? They were selling lightsabers?

She squeezed his hand. She couldn't say anything, couldn't bring herself to because of just how terrified she was, but she didn't think about it. Not until now. Selling a lightsaber, wasn't that crossing a line? .. Wait weren't they training lightsabers?

Then her heart sank to her feet.

"Alright, kid. But I wanna see them work. Anyone can make a pretty handle. Show me the blade, yeah?"

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

"Alright, kid. But I wanna see them work. Anyone can make a pretty handle. Show me the blade, yeah?"

"Look man, I don't know what you're smoking but this isn't exactly the time or the place to be drawing attention to ourselves. These are stolen, and I'm not going to risk getting our asses flagged in here with so many eyes on us" Lukan spoke bluntly, turning his attention briefly to Maran who had squeezed his hand. He hadn't realized they were still holding hands with all that was going on.

"They work, I can guarantee that and the information on that cube is more than enough to have earned your trust on this. The Jedi keep those bloody things in a vault for stars' sake. But hey, if you don't want these, I can always find another buyer" Luke leaned back into his seat, eyeing the Ikotchi with a scrutinous glare; "You and I both know you won't come across this kind of deal anywhere else".

"Unless of course, you know someone in the Order willing to risk their asses to bring you first hand gear like this?".

 

[Maran]

Lukan kept his cool.

That's the only reason Maran seemed to. Barely, at that. She was trembling with fear. She didn't want to be here any longer. The man squinted, more at her than him. He was obviously still high, but spending that many credits had him all kinds of focused. Mostly. Ish. The fact Maran was so clearly terrified made him that much more suspicious. At least until Lukan continued to speak.

"Fine. But Thirteen kay. I can see you're friend wants the goods gone. I'm doing you a favor taking these ill gotten goods from you."

Maran just winced. Now she was costing them money.

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

Luke's jaw tightened. Thirteen was a steal and the guy seated across from them knew as much.

Glancing sideways at Maran, Lukan realized that she was visibly scared and knew that the Ikotchi had a point. 'Blast it all' he thought to himself, only now figuring the downside of bringing her along with him. He should've thought about it beforehand but Luke was excited to have someone else along for the ride with him for a change. Two thousand credits less than his counter offer....-It could have been worse, and it would be if he didn't cut his losses here.

"Fine, but don't think I don't know this is a steal. Next time I'm down here, I won't be selling cheap" Lukan reached out with his right hand, the left still holding Maran 's, hoping that she might relax a little. "My friend and I need a drink, the least you could do is buy us a round before we leave you be" he said as he pushed the bag across to the Ikotchi's side of the table, while the buyer in-turn threw a number of credit chits his way.

"Fair enough, but only because you got stones, kid" the Ikotchi laughed before signalling to the barkeep and then pointing to the two Padawan. This guy was clearly a regular at the Club. The bartender soon motioned for the two Jedi to approach from afar, and Luken turned back to the Ikotchi.

"Enjoy your purchase and look out for me around here from time to time. I'll have others to trade" Lukan informed the man before moving to get up and gently tugging Maran's arm to join him in leaving.

They were now thirteen thousand credits richer.

 

[Maran]

Maran kept her gaze away as ever. She didn't want to see the disappointment. She was supposed to be cool. Brave. Right now, she couldn't even bring herself to fake it. She wanted to leave. So desperately she wanted to leave. And now they were being robbed of a proper price. And it was her fault. And- Wait a drink? She blinked, finally lifting her gaze to stare at him. A drink?

They were going to drink? Weren't they way to young to drink?

"W.. Wait huh?"

She followed along, ever not wanting to be alone, to the bar. Panic all over again taking over the dull dread she'd had just standing there to talk the deal out. Or just listen. And ruin it.

"We're going to drink? Why are we going to drink?" She was whispering. Loudly. Just loudly enough for him to hear, but clearly with the same fear as before. Shouldn't they leave? Like, now? Weren't the lightsabers fake?

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

"We're going to drink? Why are we going to drink?"

"We're just going to have one" Lukan tried to reassure her, "It'd be rude not to after making a trade-off like that, plus he's buying so it's a win-win" he grinned to himself as they came closer to the bar counter and the keep looked down over them suspiciously.

"Hey man. One wild rodian and a jasper rose for my friend here" Lukan ordered without pause nor sign of anxiety unlike Maran was showing beside him. The barkeep took a moment before reluctantly moving to fetch their drinks, leaving Lukan to turn and lean side-on to the counter, looking to his new friend.

"There's nothing wrong with these drinks, they might taste a bit funny at first but you get used to them and it'll help you feel more comfortable" He said, only now letting go of her hand; "Oh, sorry" he said a little sheepishly as he released her, feeling a little awkward.

Selling illegal goods was easy, but holding a girls hand, that was new.

"Anyway..." he spoke before she could say anything about it, "I know you're nervous and stuff, but you did awesome" he smirked to her. "Everyone's first time is scary, but you'll be a pro in no-time" he boasted, trying to make her feel better about the whole situation.

"And yeah they were training versions. I'm not a bad guy, I wouldn't sell the real deal to someone down here" he snickered softly under his breath. "That guy wouldn't know the difference if it kicked 'em in the arse though, so don't worry so much. We're good!". Contrary to how it might have looked, Lukan did have a moral code to him. A very blurred one but murder and never hurting women was at the top of it. It just wasn't cool.

 

[Maran]

He let go of her hand. And with it, the grounding that she wasn't alone in a club of strangers, gangsters, drugs, and booze. No, no. No no no. She reached out frantically to take his hand again. She didn't want to be alone here. If she froze up again he could pull her along. What if they got separated? What if the guy from before realized the lightsabers were fake? Too many things filled her with fear and panic for him to just leave her alone now.

"I don't.." Want to be a pro. Want to drink. She wanted to go home, back to the temple. But that wasn't cool, was it? And she'd already cost him credits being all panicked as she was. She really wasn't cool, was she? Maran let her hand fall, rather than actually take his. Instead turned to the bar to take up the drink he'd ordered for her. Maybe he was right. Lukan seemed to know so much about all of this. And they did have the credits. They weren't in trouble. They could be fine.

She could still be cool, right?

So she drank. Took up the cup and tipped it back. Nearly spit it out. It was terrible. Maran coughed, setting down the glass with a full on grimace. It burned. Why'd it burn? What kind of freak made a drink that burned to drink?

"That's nasty! Why would anyone drink this?"

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

Lukan couldn't help but laugh as Maran 's face scrunched up in a public dispute over the drink. It was her first time having alcohol too apparently. Geeze, these kids from the Temple sure were cut from a different cloth compared to his old friends on Nar Shaddaa.

"Give it a moment, it'll make you feel a bit better" Lukan spoke through an ear-to-ear grin; "Yours is a Jasper Rose, raspberry, lemon and vodka if I remember right. It's the perfect drink for you" He explained, soon turning his attention back to those around them, having fun dancing and drinking, listening to the booming loud beats and the bass literally shaking the Night Club floor.

Raising his own glass to his lips, Lukan took a lazy swig of his Wild Rodian. A double shot of rum and barley soda. It was an extremely bitter-sweet taste and he had grown quite fond of it back on his homeworld before his life had been turned upside down. Accompanied with the drink were old memories of him and a few other like-minded youths drinking in the alley and talking chit about what dreams they had, or what they wanted to steal and who from.

"Try to relax a little, the hard part is over now. It's our time to have fun and cut loose. No rules and no adults telling us what to do" He told her, glancing back to Maran with a half-cocked smirk; "To be honest, I wasn't sure you'd come with me but you sure proved me wrong. That's pretty cool of you, and definitely not something I thought any of my classmates from the Temple would do".

It was a relief to see that not everyone's spirit had been culled by the boring old-timers of the Jedi Order.

 

[Maran]

Give it a moment. She grimaced still, but at least took another sip. Everything about this was terrifying. Except for him. Or to him, for that matter. He seemed so relaxed and calm despite everything that happened. .. Maybe he was right. They just made a bunch of money. And they weren't hurt. And they weren't in danger. The club was full of people she didn't really trust but, yeah. They were fine.

They were fine.

And he said she was cool. She nodded, even smiled for the first time since they came in here as she took another sip. Still nasty. .. Kinda fuzzy. She was feeling fuzzy. Warm.

"Most people are pretty lame. It's like.. Stressful. Everyone's always gotta be so good at stuff and I'm just.. Bad. It suuuucks. I can't slip by anymore either so now I just look like an idiot all the timee."

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

The first couple of swigs of Lukan's drink went straight to his head, hitting him with an audible sigh of relief as his mind lightened up and his chest warmed to the sensation of alcohol hitting his bloodstream. Things were settling down now for the pair of them, and it seemed that Maran was lightening up too as she began to speak her feelings on life within the Jedi Temple. In his small experience, these sorts of drinks always helped to encourage honest words and heartfelt conversation...-Until a certain point where a few drinks became a few too many, that was.

"Most of my classes have been boring so far, and I've hardly talked to any of the other kids in them. Everyone talks about crap that's never once been useful or needed in my life, or how normal people live out here..." He gestured to those in the Nightclub around them. The Jedi were all so concerned about matters of the Galaxy, or the Force and how it apparently consumed all things. Luke was far more concerned about the everyday stuff like how he was going to get to each class in such a massive new place, and credits and food. That sort of thing.

"I've only really spoken to you and some other guy. Aiden or something like that", Aiden Porte . He was alright, for a bookworm. The guy loved to study and learn, which wasn't exactly Lukan's strength. "There's also a lady in the Order that seems to like me for some reason. Gods know why. Amanda braska. She's a Jedi Master or something like that. She'd probably freak if she saw us down here..." Lukan snickered at the thought; "Welcome to real life, huh!" he boasted as though they were achieving something no other Jedi had. Breaking loose of all the rules and crap.

 

[Maran]

Another sip, another bit of lightheadedness. She smiled a bit wider. The drink wasn't the best, but.. It wasn't bad? Didn't seem to be as bad as it had been anymore. "They're all pretty annoyin'. You haven't missed much. Always bein' better than you, or have more money than you, or are just cooler than you." Tenn Kalos, Corazona von Ascania , and Jalen Kai'el . In no particular order at that. The smile faded for a moment as she frowned and took another sip.

Which brought back the smile again.

"So this is like, what, people living outside of the temple do? I've only ever y'know, lived in the temple. Faar back as I can remember it's been the temple. Not this one. Another. Smaller one. Was reaaal pretty there. So many trees n' such. Definitely not like here."

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

"Yup, pretty much" Lukan replied before taking another swig from his glass. "Back on Nar Shaddaa, me and some other kids would always go off exploring the streets at night. The older ones would buy us drinks if we gave them the credits for it. They taught me everything I know" he smirked, thinking back of home and soon finding that smile fading somewhat; "There was no Jedi there, not that we saw anyway. Just normal people, no one better or richer, all of us just living and having fun" he explained, though leaving out the bad parts of living a life of poverty in a world full of corruption even at the highest levels.

"I get what you mean about the others back at the Temple too. All of my classmates seem to know exactly what the teachers talking about while I'm seated at the back trying not to look stupid" He voiced with honesty that hadn't been shown since before he'd been taken off of his homeworld. Perhaps it was the drink talking, but at that moment it seemed pretty easy to let his guard down and just talk with Maran openly.

"Hell, I hardly know what a Jedi does aside from helping people, and I don't even know if that's something I wanna do. I mean, no one came and rescued my family or friends when we had a hard time. Dunno why I should go sticking my neck out for other people when they don't give a damn about me" he said with resentment laced in his words. "They take me away from the only thing I knew and what, expect me to get killed fighting someone else's battles" he added with a roll of his eyes.

"The Galaxy don't work that way".

 

[Maran]

"Jedi are supposed to help people. Supposed. .. I dunno if they do, or if they don't. I dunno a lot about anythin', really." Oh, she was being honest. That wasn't normal. She frowned a bit, staring at the drink. Was it secretely a truth serum or something? Strangely, though, she didn't feel annoyed that she was speaking honestly. .. Maybe she should do that more often, huh?

Maybe.

"They took you away? .. Wait huh?"

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

"Pretty much" He answered before going into more detail, "My parents are dicks, they didn't want me so when the doc discovered I could use the Force, the Jedi came and brought me here. It wasn't my choice" he elaborated. He didn't mention that the parents he spoke of were his adoptive parents, or that his previous and real family were little more than a figment of his imagination.

"You'll go with the Jedi. You'll have a better life. Blah blah blah" he mocked them for what they had told him the day he was torn from everything Lukan knew and liked; "Yeah right, I'm living in a twenty-four-seven school. So great," he said sarcastically. "You're the first real person I've met since I got here. Everything else is way over my head. The other kids are all nerds and the teachers are all killers who talk about saving people" he laughed, it was such a crazy sentence to speak that he actually laughed. Or maybe it was the drink.

"And this is honestly the best night I've had since I got here, too" he added, reaching over to nudge her shoulder with a gentle and closed fist; "I know it's been rough, but I'm glad you tagged along. It's much more fun with someone else" he grinned at her. Maran seemed nothing like the other students of the Temple, and though she might not like that idea, Lukan saw it as a really good thing. She was willing to take risks and have a good time unlike the other military brats following every order like their lives depended on it.

 

[Maran]

That seemed.. So sad. Maran never knew her parents, but for him to know them, remember them. And for them to have just given him up. She sighed, frowned. Watched him. She didn't think long on it. Couldn't, really. Her head was all kinds of fuzzy at this point. She cleared her throat before taking another sip. The last to finish off the drink. Giggled as he nudged her shoulder.

"I'm.. Well.. I was terrified. Kinda just.. Fuzzy right now. .. You think I'm cooool though. I like being cool."

Lukan Rath

 

[Lukan Rath]

"You do seem like a cool chick, yeah" Lukan grinned, taking one last swig from his drink before placing it heavily back atop the counter; "But you would've still been cool even if you hadn't come tonight," he told Maran . Had she not joined him, they'd not have been given the chance to really get to know each other outside of the Temple.

"And don't worry about all that Jedi stuff. Amanda told me that it's not supposed to be easy, but I know you'll get there. I mean, if it makes you feel any better, I'm probably the last guy that should be tryna be a Jedi" he concluded with a chuckle. Luke had never dreamed of being a Jedi. Life had never seemed to give him that kind of fairy tale opportunity before. His head was light, fuzzy and spinning a little but he thought he was making good sense.

"Tonight's been awesome so far. What should we get upto next you think?" he asked, giving Maran the choice.

 

[Maran]

Cool, even if she didn't come along?

Maran frowned a little at the sentiment. Didn't that just mean she shouldn't of come, especially with the terror still there in the back of her mind. Mm no, focus on the fuzzy feeling. That was easier. She just nodded. Laughed. "I guess. Jedi don't really steal, so.. Maybe. But.. Jedi are supposed to be different too soooo maybe you are a great Jedi. A new uhhh... Way I guess?"

She shrugged. She wasn't making sense. She knew that much. Then, another shrug. What to do next? It was hard to think with the fuzzy brain she had going.

"I dunno. I'm usually at the temple. Always been at the temple. .. Meeebe we go back?"

Lukan Rath