The Wrong Quarry

[Marcus Lok]

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Fondor​

Oridin City Spaceport​

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Oridin City Spaceport hummed its' usual droning noise of star cruiser's engines and powerful hydraulic winches as it did since the city's founding. The spaceport was large and vast, making it the perfect place to hide. The air was heavy with pollutant and most of the citizens wore masks both to choke down the horrible smog, or to hide their identities from the public eye. It was indeed a haven for the unwanted, the wandering, and the lost...

Marcus bit into his ration bar with a frustrated crunch as he sat in his ambushing position near a small cafe on a sidestreet of the port. This was the main road, he knew that, and any traffic going to the main hangars would be coming through here. He had been here for a good part of the day, and he was growing impatient. Jarket had to pass through here... Sooner or later he has to. Jarket was the target, and he had not been seen for multiple days. The young Mandalorian bit once more and gave a quick scan of the crowd to see if he could notice any sort of irregularity. A group of Whipids, two Grans arm wrestling at one of the cantina booths... Nope, it was all the same. He had been expecting Jarket, an extravagant Corellian, to be in their on his first day! He had been sorely mistaken. He had been told by both the bartender and a few patrons that no one had seen him for some days, which was to be expected from a criminal on the run.

It was nearly midday, and he didn't want to waste anymore time. He held his helmet now firmly in his hands. The air was choking him. With a fluid motion he placed the piece onto his head and turned on the HUD to begin scanning faces once more... Headdress... He wears a Headdress. Although, that could be said about most of the karking populace moving about. The hot sun of Fondor beat down harder and harder and people had gotten used to wearing such devices to keep cool. Marcus finally decided to ease up and relax a bit... He would see him...


[member="Jyfo Draav"]

 

[Jyfo]

Jyfo had spent his entire first free day on Fondor simply gawking at the sights of the big city. Growing up in a rural area on Jakku, he had never fathomed such grand structures existed. The staggering amount of spaceports, factories, and orbital space stations simply was hard to comprehend. His Master had given him free reign to explore and practice his budding abilities, but he was lost on even where to begin. So now he found himself at Oridin City Spaceport, checking out the sights and sounds of the bustling hub.

Maybe I can find a pilot, or someone who will help me practice dueling, he thought absently to himself, fingering his metal lightsabre hilt under his robes.. Who am I kidding? I have no idea where to begin. I didn't know I would have this much freedom while being trained. He sighed and leaned against a wall of an astromech shop and simply leaned back and watched ships arrive and depart, shooting smoke and heat all the while.

[member="Marcus Lok"]

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus scanned the streets... Still nothing. At one of the hangars a large ship was docking and unloading cargo containers that looked like small buildings in themselves! The spaceport was truly always a wondrous sight, but that is not why he came. A service droid came up to him and asked him if there was anything he wanted, and he ordered himself something portable, just in case he needed to run... How foolish was he? As if he were going to grab the drink and run after his target... Perhaps the thought was finally reaching him that he would never see this target, it could all have been a ruse just to waste his time. Either that or he was just extremely bad at looking for faces... This was only his second hunt after all.

He decided that he would get up and begin searching the streets by going into the crowds... Thats when he saw him. The headdress was different, too different to be a native Fondorian. He was sitting up against a wall near some store. Marcus quickly hid amongst the crowd and watched him... He didn't seem the criminal type honestly, but there was no time to sit around and make sure. He began to weave his way toward the target before slipping into a back alley. He had to do this just right, the employer wanted this one alive. He quickly activated his jetpack and flew up to the roof of a building that bordered the shop on this winding block of buildings and began to jump his way from structure to structure till he sat atop the astromech facility. Brott's Bots... Catchy. The neon sign would hide him as he looked down over the edge to the head of his target... Hopefully he hadn't noticed.


[member="Jyfo Draav"]

 

[Jyfo]

"Wanna buy a deathstick?" Jyfo heard as he turned to see a shady Nemoidian offering some deathsticks with his withered hand. The creature stared at him with beady eyes. "No, no thank you." He turned back the way he was facing. The Nemoidian grabbed Jyfo's arm and said forcefully, "Come on, just buy a deathstick. They're delicious." The hunched creature licked his lips. Jyfo was disgusted. He shoved him back, throwing him on the ground. Looks like it's time to get moving. Jyfo sighed and started walking down the main street, mingling with the crowd.

"All these creatures in a bustling place, and I can't find what I'm looking for," he mumbled to himself. But what am I even looking for? For some reason, Jyfo felt a little nervous. He couldn't quite place it; it was like the feeling when you know you're about to ingest rotten food. He felt something... wrong was going to happen. Jyfo shivered and continued to walk, picking up his pace.

[member="Marcus Lok"]

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus cursed quietly to himself as the Neimoidian ruined the ambush. Now the target was off! He was now jumping from building to building once more. The taxing chase was beginning to show itself as each tumble onto the next roof met Marcus heavier and heavier. He had to end this soon. He breathed heavily inside the helmet and it was all he could do to keep the HUD's targeting system focused on the character moving through the crowds. He needed to get him by an an ally if he was going to have any chance of taking this guy in stealthily.

He soon climbed down into an ally that was on the supposed path that he thought the figure would take. His path was pretty predictable as it was clear he hadn't traveled these streets much. He waited and watched for his opportunity to grab the man with blaster in hand. This had to go flawlessly.

[member="Jyfo Draav"]

 

[Jyfo]

The sun had started to set, and the glow of it on the buildings and structures was slowly being replaced by the glow of city lights. Jyfo tossed around the idea of just going back to his Master and not using his week of freedom, but he felt that would disappoint her. And he did not want to disappoint her.

Jyfo followed the slowly decreasing foot traffic from the main street to a more narrow one, covered with market stalls and small shops getting ready to close for the night. Species of all sorts were scurrying to and fro. It was pretty overwhelming. Jyfo slowed his pace to see what each shop carried. Spare parts, exotic meats, droids, blasters; anything one could want seemed to be able to be found here.

Shadows elongated as the street grew darker, each alley he passed more black than the previous.

[member="Marcus Lok"]

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus waited in the shadows for what seemed like an eternity. Darkness began to emerge onto the streets as their lights flickered on and soon the town was being illuminated by glowing bulbs. Soon... People began to head home, probably to eat dinner, perhaps speak with family and friends. Any second now...

Then it happened. Marcus saw the first foot fall of the man he had been tailing come into view and he charged out. His ultimate aim was to detain the man, and he rushed him now with his arm ready to wrap around the target's neck to pull him back into the alley. His HUD now locked onto the man's form and with arm extended, he went for it.

[member="Jyfo Draav"]

 

[Jyfo]

Jyfo felt a sense of dread for a short moment, but before he could process what it could mean, an armored figure lurched out of the alleyway to his right and wrapped an arm around his neck and started to drag him backwards. Several thoughts flashed through his head. One, he knew he could not panic. Panic is the sister to defeat, he remembered his dad telling him, time after time again. Second, he needed to get some distance between him and the assailant to properly assess the threat.

Jyfo launched his elbow back, hopefully to hit the man's stomach, but he was blocked by his chest armor. Seeing his first counter failed, Jyfo stomped as hard as he could on the man's foot, hoping to do some damage. I just need to get out of his grasp and grab my lightsabre. Hoping to find out what this was all about, he addressed the mysterious attacker. "Who are you, and what do you want with me?" while trying to avoid being choked.

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus couldn't believe his luck! His target struggled in his grasp and the attempt at a knock to the stomach was sheerly deflected by the armor. He was grateful that he had it, lest he be lurched over by now. From within his helmet, the HUD could no longer see the man's face, beings that the man was now facing away from him. He pulled and pulled, but the man launched an unsuspected attack at his boot. There was no armor here and a sharp pain suddenly shot up through his leg. With a curse of malice, Marcus did indeed let go of the man, though it was in the direction of one of the ally's walls instead of back out into the street.

He did not respond to the man as he spoke, that would only give him away as someone willing to talk. This was going to happen, and he just needed to secure the man now that he was out of the public eye. He went for his blaster... If suprise would not work completely, then intimidation would.

[member="Jyfo Draav"]

 

[Jyfo]

The moment he felt the attacker's chokehold lessen, Jyfo launched himself away from him, kicking off the alley wall and turning back to face him. He began to reach for his sabre, but he noted the man had pulled a blaster on him. Jyfo did not want to risk getting shot while grabbing for his sabre, and he didn't know if he could block a shot at that close of a range.. And perhaps, not revealing that he was Force-sensitive just yet would play into his advantage.

He raised his arms to signify surrender. "I ask you again - what do you want of me? I have spent all of my credits getting here, so you won't find any on me. Let's work this out, and no one has to get hurt." Jyfo took a step backwards to get some distance between them. He stared hard at the man. "No one has to get hurt," he repeated.

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus saw the raise of the man's hands and smirked from within the confines of his helmet. This would be easier than he thought! Usually any underhanded criminal would attempt to at least draw blaster. It was not all fun and games though, and he doubted this surrender was honest. He quickly grew grim and approached his target. He gripped his blaster firmly and then, seemingly from out of nowhere, his boot would be on it's way to connecting with the jedi's stomach.

"Felgen wants you alive!.. I suggest you cooperate."

[member="Jyfo Draav"]

 

[Jyfo]

Jyfo silently watched as the armored figure moved closer to him. Seeing the weight distribution and his seemingly malicious intent, he expected a blow. The man lashed out with his foot and in the split second Jyfo decided to take it. He clenched his muscles and grunted as the kick landed squarely on his stomach. Jyfo felt his temper rising, but he knew that as a Jedi apprentice he should avoid that whenever possible. He swallowed hard. "Felgen wants you alive!.. I suggest you cooperate."

Felgen? Who, or what, was Felgen? He took a deep breath. "I don't know what you are talking about," He calmly stated back. "I'm just a normal civilian. I've never committed a crime. I have no quarrel with anyone." Jyfo studied the assailant; he appeared to be some sort of a bounty hunter, yet Jyfo had hardly done anything to have a bounty put on him. It had to be a mistake.

[member="Marcus Lok"]

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus now grew angry at the man... He knew what he did, hell, all of Ithor knew what he did! He grabbed the man by the collar and brought him up so he could see his face. It was at that moment that he released the man. That was not his man! He checked his HUD and sure enough, the man was unidentifiable to the registry, which could only mean that either no one was looking for him, or he had gotten a quick reconstructive surgery.

Marcus backed up and looked either way in the alley before reluctantly removed his helmet and looked at the figure in front of him. It was a man clad in olive drab... Who was he?.. He certainly looked enough like the target in his attire, but it wasn't this was simply some man that he had beat up for no good reason other than the fact that he was wearing a headdress... What was wrong with him? Could he not find a damned target with a modified HUD's targeting system?

"I... I...You aren't the guy..?"

[member="Jyfo Draav"]

 

[Jyfo]

"I... I... You aren't the guy..?" This really was all for nothing? At this, Jyfo let his temper burst. He felt his connection to the Force, and the brief surging of power through his body. He reached out with his hand. At that moment, a solid weight of air crashed into [member="Marcus Lok"], throwing him backwards, into the opposite wall. The blaster fell on the ground. Jyfo stared at the man, pulling out his sabre and igniting it. The amber glow of the blade of energy illuminated the alleyway.

Jyfo felt his temper recede. I almost lost it there. What if I had fully surrendered to my anger? I cannot imagine the outcome would be good. He quickly retracted the blade and put it back on his belt. Shaking his head at his rash action, he offered a hand to the bounty hunter. "This has apparently been a misunderstanding. I hope we can figure this out. Forgive me for my outburst. I am working on it."

 

[Marcus Lok]

Marcus let out a gasp as he was suddenly slammed against the back wall and a lightsaber was suddenly revealed. It was at this moment that he realized that he might have made a slightly larger error than just attacking some random man. He had attacked a fully fledged Jedi. He felt the waves of the force pressing him ever harder against the wall as his blaster clacked to the ground harmlessly. It was only just bearable, and if it were any harder, Marcus knew his ribs would collapse. The lightsaber only added to his fears and he suddenly realized that this man might not be a jedi... But someone who may kill for pleasure.... Oh Sith spit... Please don't let it be a... Sith.

These fears were somewhat nullified though as he suddenly fell to the ground. Nope... Not a sith. He coughed on the ground for a few moments before grabbing his helmet and accepting the hand, all too reluctantly. He was glad the sabre was gone... It felt as though it carried with it the ever present possibility of death. Marcus held the helmet under his arm and stretched his appendages to make sure they all worked properly after being man handled by the force.


"I'm fine... Jeez you Jedi really don't hold back anymore, do you?"

[member="Jyfo Draav"]

 

[Jyfo]

Jyfo helped the man up. "The Code of old is not largely followed," he commented. "I hope you did not sustain any injuries. I typically do not try to harm others; but you were attacking me for no reason," he chuckled. After thinking for a bit, he became serious again. "If you don't mind my asking, who is this bounty you are after? I feel I have a right to know, considering I was mistaken for him."

Perhaps this would unravel to be the adventure Jyfo needed. "And who is this Felgen?"

 

[Marcus Lok]

"I didn't know the Jedi cared about the business of hunters... His name is Jarket Mun. Killed a couple kids on Ithor..."

Marcus replaced the helmet on his head and unslung his jetpack to make sure that it had not been damaged in the scuffle. The very back of it was dented to hell, but at least it was still functional... He hoped that would come out. After re slinging the pack he nodded to the Jedi as he posed his next question.

"I am sure Felgen wouldn't like the Jedi knowing who he is... It's been a pleasure meeting you."

With that, Marcus began to walk to the end of the alley. He didn't want to be involved with the Jedi and by now he was sure that Jarket had slipped by him. He had to find out if he had gotten onto a ship...

[member="Jyfo Draav"]

 

[Jyfo]

Jyfo saw the hunter start to walk away. "Wait," he called out. This was exactly the reason Jyfo sought to become a Jedi. To hunt down the corrupt, the tyrannical, the evil. Those who would murder kids, like in this situation. He knew he couldn't let this opportunity pass him up. "Perhaps the assistance of a Jedi Knight could help you find your quarry?" He had noticed that [member="Marcus Lok"] was somewhat scared of Jedi, and he felt like he even overestimated Jyfo's skills. He was, after all, a mere padawan. But if he read the cards right, Marcus thought he was much more powerful. All to his advantage.

"What do you say?"

 

[Marcus Lok]

"I didn't know that Jedi were interested in credits... Alright. Just so long as you don't take me in for anyone that gets in the way..."


Marcus walked out onto the street and checked his gauntlet for the nearest spaceport. It was soon locked in to the small device and he began to walk down the indicated path. He motioned for the Jedi to follow. This was going to be interesting... A Jedi Knight?.. Hopefully he wasn't expecting a share. It was a bit odd to believe that he was even allowing him to come along, from what his enclave leaders had told him. He had been told that Jedi didn't take kindly to Mandalorians... Eh, might as well break stereotypes.

As night grew upon them, there was very little that was active on the streets, save for the few bars and drunken brawls. The spaceports would still be open, and that is where the first test of this Jedi's loyalty would be.

[member="Jyfo Draav"]

 

[Jyfo]

Jyfo kept up with [member="Marcus Lok"] as they started to walk down the streets. A sudden thought came to him. "Don't worry, you won't have to give me any credits. I'll be content enough to dispose the galaxy of one more villain." He hoped that would help soothe the bounty hunter's mind, in case he had any other tricks up his sleeves. Jyfo knew the key was to keep an air of confidence.

"So what information do you have on your target? It'll be best if you fill me in. Perhaps I can provide you with some insight," Jyfo offered. He would be as helpful as he could. No reason to be a thorn in Marcus's side, he was grateful enough the man allowed Jyfo to come with him, anyway.