Triple Zero

[Cedric Grayson]

Coruscant again. You really couldn't find anything you needed anywhere else given the place Darius had chosen to make his home. In hindsight, setting up shop on Endor was not the best idea, but it had kept him away from the prying eyes of the Sith Lords. The last thing he needed was for some crazed warlord to decide he would make for the perfect apprentice. Of course, the fact that he had to travel to the Sith's seat of power to buy groceries kind of made his attempts at hiding a bit defunct, didn't it?

Technicalities really.

Darius had come to the decrepit world to buy a few power cells under the table. It was easy to avoid the eye of the Sith so long as he remained on the lower levels, and the merchants here did not pay much heed to their overlords above. The only other place to find this sort of thing cheap was in Hutt space, and so Darius had to come to Coruscant whether he wished to or not.

The auction was a lively one. A Hutt whose massive girth indicated his many years inched across a hastily erected stage and called out prices to the crowd. People were bidding, but the denominations weren't particularly high. That was just fine for Darius; he was pretty poor these days.

The Jedi Padawan was clad in a black hooded jacket with an armorweave lining, and carried a shattergun at his hip. He did not have the look of a Jedi, but he certainly felt like one. As he awaited on his particular choice of item to be chosen by the Hutt, Darius extended his senses, silently probing the surrounding area for threats. Particularly gangsters or bandits; people who felt far too aggressive compared to the rest of the crowd.

In doing so, he made himself a beacon to any Sith in the area. Not that such mattered; he would never expect to see one out here.

[member="Kaela Jaryn"]

 

[Kaela Jaryn]

Coruscant. Oh noble Coruscant. Once a beacon of the Republic's dominance over the Galaxy, now a symbol of the Sith's great victory. She loved this world. The upper levels were ruled with an iron fist, and indeed, several of the middle and upper middle tiers were most greatful to be under Sith after the initial bombardments that had freed up the criminals and uncouth sorts to run riot. Yet not everywhere was like this. She could walk the upper levels and be respected, but in the lower levels she was either unknown, or feared. Usually, she ventured down with a patrol with the intention of executing a well known criminal to keep the underbelly fighting amongst itself rather than with the Sith. Yet not today.

She had heard of a market, well. More of an Auction, and it was run by a Hutt. That meant illegal activity. Drugs. Slaves. More than likely rigged blasters and speeder parts that had been tampered with for one effect or another. It had been made known to her that this particular Hutt had been supplying the garrison with entertainment for some time now, and in the interest of morale it wouldn't do to put him out of business. Besides. He had considerable leverage where Sith law didn't mean much, and that was always useful.

By the time she got there the auction was well underway, and it didn't take her long to slip into the crowd - after all, in her trademark black figure hugging jumpsuit emblazoned with the empires crest on her shoulders it wasn't difficult to see what side of the Galaxy she stood on. The lightsaber at her belt was enough to keep the pick pockets and other vagabonds away from her. All in all, her arrival didn't cause much of a stir, but those around here were clearly in no hurry to get in her way.

Kaela paused. She could feel something - almost familiar, but twisted, wrong almost. Like someone was using the Force in some un-natural, defensive manner. Her eyes scanned the crowd around her, and she allowed her Miraluka heritage to expand her sight, overlaying reality with the ever present web of the force that connected the Galaxy together. Almost instantly she saw it. An anomaly, on the other side of the crowd, its glittering tendrils of energy meandering through the crowd, searching and probing the feelings of those around its creator. There was nothing she could have done to stop the force use, as one of the strands brushed against her without causing a physical sensation, yet it left Kaela with no doubt that the origin of the anomaly had been alerted to her presence. To what she was.

It mattered not.

She began to make her way through the crowd with purpose, towards whoever or whatever was using the Force in the area. Her hand rested gently upon the hilt of her lightsaber, both reassuring her of her safety and serving as a warning to the few beings that took umbridge to her sudden movements. Not many beings would dare stop a Sith with such a look on her face and a hand on her lightsaber afterall...

[member="Darius"] (sorry about the late reply, works a bummer.)

 

[Cedric Grayson]

(Not a problem!)

Darius was not as attuned as the one he'd happened across. He had no reason to have his guard up a there were not supposed to be any Sith here. Apparently he'd assumed too much. He felt it -- a storm within the sea that he perceived the force as. One that was steadily moving toward the island that he saw himself as; not good. he could just barely make out the shifting of the crowd as they made way for the individual, and Darius managed to catch a glimpse of her. A woman, perhaps a bit older than he, with a rather determined look on her face. It had to be one of the Sith.

Mumbling a curse under his breath, the padawan spun on his heel and made his way steadily out of the crowd. He made sure to secure his cowl over his as soon as he clear the throng of people. He had no way of hiding himself. Cloaking oneself within the force was no easy feat, and Darius was too inexperienced to manage it. This woman was going to catch up to him eventually. His only option was to find a place that was in his favor.

A brisk walk became a sprint. He did not dare look over his shoulder, instead opting to focus on the elevators ahead. If he could get to the lower levels, she might not follow. The Sith had loose control, but once you passed 1313 there was none. You were more likely to be assaulted for your lightsaber than you were to strike fear into the criminals below. Of course, Darius was human as well, and quite young. The slavers that made their home below would happily take him as well -- a risk he was willing to take.

He slammed the control panel as soon as he made it into the elevator. A moment later and he was descending into the darkest corners of Coruscant. Hopefully she would value her own safety over tracking down a force sensitive. Darius found himself praying for such.

He stepped out of the elevator expecting the worst. It looked like any of the other party districts, but Darius knew better. He hunched himself over to his his facial features and moved toward one of the alleys. He could defend himself there if the worst came to pass.

Unbeknownst to Darius, a Nikto and his comrades had seen the human making his way off of the elevator. After a brief dialogue, the group of five began to follow at a healthy distance...

[member="Kaela Jaryn"]

 

[Kaela Jaryn]

[member="Darius"]

There. She saw him. Both through the Force and through her eyes, she got a glimpse of the being responsible for this.. Twisting of the Force. Just as she got to the edge of the crowd, the hooded individual had made a bolt for it - right towards the turbolifts to the lower areas. She had been warned not to go there alone before - but that was some time ago, and she was far more deadly now than she was then. Yet she wasn't a fool. She would follow him down to the underbelly of the world - but she wouldn't do so without first informing command of her location.

As she strode forth, hot on the trail of the Force Sensitive being, she brought her commslink up to her mouth... "Command centre alpha tango four, this is Kaela Jaryn. I have identified a force user, presently in persuit. Subject is headed to the lower levels by way of turbolift delta kilo kilo eight five juliet in sector foxtrot mid five. Requesting strike teams to cordon all exits off. I repeat. All exits, regardless of level."

::Understood, Acolyte Jaryn. Sighting of potential Jedi confirmed. Squads en route. Advise caution past 1313 - we lost two patrols down there last month.::

She didn't bother to reply - The squads would take time to deploy, and they were more for her peace of mind. After all, it payed to have an exit strategy should things go south, and a turbolift secured by the planetary defence force was as useful as any when it came to such things. Moreover, it was one less thing to worry about, allowing her to focus on the persuit... What she didn't notice, however, was the Nikto and his comrades stalking the chase.

Mere minutes after the male had entered the turbolift and reached the bottom, Kaela had stepped into a lift of her own, intent on seeing this through to whatever end was in store for them. After all, if it was a risk for her, it would be a risk for him - and by the way he had taken off, she felt that it may be a riskier gambit than he had counted on...

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Now really would have been a good time to have a lightsaber. Unfortunately Darius had not progressed that far into his training. The scattergun would have to do. The weapon was far more crude than the traditional Jedi blade, but it was just as effective. It was hard to kill someone when there was laser fire coming at you from eight different directions at once - the scattergun was hard to match.

Unfortunately that wasn't going to be stopping the Nikto. In his desire to escape, Darius had made a critical error; he'd allowed himself to forget how quickly the denizens that called this level home could pounce. He'd run himself into an alley to deal with the Sith alone. In close quarters, even with a lightsaber, he would win. It was simply impossible to block a scattergun up close. Once again to Darius' misfortune, the Nikto and his gang were carrying blasters, not lightsabers.

"Not wise coming down here hummie," the Nikto tilted back his barbed chin, "Your kind come down here. They don't come out. We don't take kindly to soft skins here." The Nikto brandished a carbine. His four comrades, two of his own species, a Nautolan, and an Advosze reached for similar weapon. They wouldn't kill Darius, but they would gleefully maim. Humans fetched a nice price on the slave market, and Coruscant was rife with such corruption.

Darius pumped his scattergun. The weapon made a low clicking sound, ready to fire.

"If you shoot, I shoot. I'm not worth much dead, and I don't care about killing any of you," murder was distasteful, but justifiable in self-defense, "The Imps are coming too."

The Nikto was unperturbed.

"Can't intimidate me smooth skin. If you're bringin' Sith down here - well, their lightsabers sell for about as much as your skin does."

Darius chewed down on his lower lip. He needed to find a solution, and quickly. There was the matter of the Sith as well - she was pursuing. He'd felt her some time ago, and she wasn't very far now.

"My boys know about your girlfriend mate. They're getting her too."

Darius felt both sympathy and relief. The other two Nikto broke off from the throng to do just that, or so the padawan suspected.

The stand-off continued.

[member="Kaela Jaryn"]

 

[Kaela Jaryn]

[member="Darius"]

As she exited the turbolift, Kaela was greeted with three sights. The first, was that although marginally no worse off aesthetically, this section of Coruscant had a certain... Look, to it. The second was the tendrils of residual force energy meandering their way towards an alley. Were it not for the third sight, she would have been tempted to persue them. Two loping Nikto's with equally crude looking blasters.

"Well lookee eeer, sjus like he said. One nice pretty one ready fehr the dance indust-"

Unfortunately for the "gentleman" he never got to finish his threats. Kaela was in no mood to be civil - what the troopers had said had made her nerves set on fire. A Jedi! If it was, and she found him... Maybe... No. That thought was wrong. Improper. UnSith. No, she would have to bring him to the Lords. They would see her worth then, and perhaps she would use that as leverage. Still. In order to do that, she would first have to deal with these cretinous lumps - which is precisely why the more vocal one never had a chance to finish talking. Her hand had lashed out at him, and he had found that with a compacted throat it was most difficult to talk. In fact, it was so difficult for him to talk that not only did he stop rambling, but he stopped breathing entirely.

His associate barely had time to aim his blaster and crack off a couple of rounds in panic before she was on him- with a burst of speed her lightsaber had come into ignition, eviscerating his weapon, and then cleaving his head from his neck in one savage strike. It was hardly precise - in fact, she considered it far more distasteful than she would have liked it to be. However, needs must, and she intended to find the Force user before he met some grizzly end.

Without much more than a second thought she picked up the head by the grizzled and seared flesh that was once the Nikto's neck, and began to make her way towards the alley...

 

[Cedric Grayson]

...and yet the stand-off continued.

Darius was not sure whether he could keep this up. One of the slavers was bound to shoot sooner or later, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold his own with any kind of wound. At this range, no one from either party could miss. They were far too close - the Advosze was starting to look a bit jumpy, too.

The Nikto sneered. "I'll give ya a couple seconds smooth skin. Then 'yer curtains." He began to mouth the number five, then four. Darius had about three seconds to decide on the correct course of action. Fortunately the sound of a blaster going off multiple times in the distance caused the Nikto to turn his scaly head.

Darius didn't waste time. He pulled the trigger on the Scattergun. The energy weapon roared as plasma exploded from its muzzle in a cone. The Nikto's torso was disconnected from his arms and legs. The head was little more than a grizzly mess by the time the warm corpse his the ground. The Advosze lost his left arm, and fell to the ground in a heap, screaming obscenities at the padawan. The Nautolan was unscathed and took the opportunity to fire at the young man.

Blaster bolts sailed toward Darius. His reflexes saved him from two; he managed to drop to the ground before they hit. The fourth scathed his left arm, charring the flesh and muscle beneath. The pain was intense, but adrenaline served to numb it. Biting back a curse, Darius shot a second time, turning the Nautolan into a bloody heap.

With the intoxicating cocktail of adrenaline flowing through his veins, and the sudden euphoric feeling of success from simple survival, Darius pushed up to his feet. The bolt had cauterized the wound on his arm, but it would need treatment eventually. He could still fight.

There was still the matter of the Advosze. Darius leveled the scattergun at the alien's midriff, and - no. He lowered the weapon. Abandoned or not, Darius was a Jedi. He wasn't going to harm something that was no longer a threat.

He was reaching into his pack for gauze when the familiar presence made itself known. There down the alley stood the Sith, the decapitated head of one of the Niktos in her hand. Darius forgot about the Advosze.

"Evening," he called out, his voice trembling from the pain in his arm, "I see you and the Nikto made nice." The scattergun was raised. If he could talk the Sith down, or perhaps convince her to leave entirely, all the better, but he wasn't going to some Imperial prison. He wasn't going to be a slave. He'd heard what they had done to Kinsey, how her master had taken advantage of her. That memory made him angrier than his current situation did.

"What's a Sith doing down here, eh?"

Figure I know the answer.

[member="Kaela Jaryn"]

 

[Kaela Jaryn]

[member="Darius"]

She threw the head underarm, letting it bounce and roll unceremoniously along the alleyway, conveniently coming to rest by the Advose. If he wasn't a threat before, seeing further proof that he was alone in the Galaxy was enough to keep him out of the way for good. After all, its not every day you see the head of one of your friends next to your thigh without its body.

Her yellow eyes glitned maliciously in the dim light as she eyed up the Force user and the damage his scattergun had done to his persuers - it was a grizzly sight, and part of her was glad it wasn't one of those antiquated solid slug weapons. Certainly the sight of carnage would have been much more... Visceral, but it would have been far less orderly. Far more messy... Still. To Kaela, it seemed that for now they had been impromptu allie, at least in regards to the incident with the Nikto and his associates. And that, in Kaela's book, stood for something. At least until the situation changed. His scattergun was still raised, and his tone whispered notes that hinted at an anger for past grievances as yet unresolved. She pondered for a brief moment about what they might be, but resolved to smile at him lightly. Or as lightly as a Sith with an ignited lightsaber could smile.

"I'd hazard that a better question would be 'what's a Jedi doing on Coruscant?', but seeing as you asked first... Following the likes of you.". Her voice was heavily tinted with the sounds of Adumarian aristocracy, giving her words an air of assured imperial superiority. She disignited her lightsaber, an unexpected move given the standoff - perhaps it was a show of confidence. Perhaps it was a show of good faith. Either way, the blade was gone, and her body was less illuminated than it was before.

"Perhaps you can lower the scattergun, and we can attempt a little civility."

 

[Cedric Grayson]

She actually thought him to be a full fledged Jedi? Maybe he could talk his way out of this after all. Plenty members of the order did not carry lightsabers - they'd developed a love for rifles and the like. For whatever reason, a large number of Jedi seemed to be favoring snipe rifles as of late. Darius had nothing of the sort, but maybe with a bit of luck the shattergun could get him out of this. He pursed his lips at her request, obviously puzzled.

Why exactly did she want to talk?

Darius lowered the weapon.

For his credit, the Advoze managed to inch his way out from between the two warriors. He wasn't bleeding, so at the very least Darius could feel some relief. The less lives he ended up taking here, the better. Most of it was for his own conscience; the rest was the desire not to build a reputation. It was hard to get people to sell to you when folks kept dying around you. Of course, that was neither here nor there now.

"Looking for speeder parts mostly," he answered honestly, "And a bit of sightseeing. Just can't get over the skyscrapers, y'know? Don't have that back home." Darius was trying to lighten the mood; more so for himself than the Sith. So long as he could relax, find a place of calm, he could find a way out of this situation.

"Y'know they're going to have friends, and I'm sure those friends heard the shots."

[member="Kaela Jaryn"]

 

[Kaela Jaryn]

[member="Darius"]

He'd lowered his weapon. Good. Perhaps this was one of the few sensible ones, that didn't throw themselves into danger for "the greater good". His reply had puzzled Kaela though - why would a Jedi risk coming to Coruscant for speeder parts? Surely it was a lie, even if he had sounded honest. Jedi could lie to themselves easily enough, and in her mind if they could do that then they were certainly not above being dishonest towards others at the drop of a hat. Or, in this case, a Nikto. The sight seeing, however, she took plainly to mean reconnaissance for the enemy. However despite her thoughts, her face remained calm and impassive.

"You speak truely about their... Friends. No doubt they intend to investigate. But they can wait, for now. What is your name, Jedi?" Her tone remained on the brink of arrogancefor the time being. It was a given that she felt confident, having just ended a beings life through the Force, and she was certain that no amount of trouble caused by the locals would stop her getting to where she wanted to be. Indeed if Darius was still using the Force to check the feelings of those around him, he may well have felt a certain resonance within her as the Darkside furthered its hold within her body in the wake of her kills. Yet he may have also sensed that she bore him no ill will. At least for now anyway.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Being called a Jedi filled Darius with mixed emotions. Shame for falling so far behind in his training. Pride for being referred to as what he'd worked to hard to attain. The warring emotions caught him off-guard, made him consider things. The Nikto's friends would no doubt return eventually, and then what? They'd just fight them all off like the ones from before? Darius had no desire to do anymore killing today. He was no pacifist - Master Sedaire had always taught him that one needed to be ready to take a life to save others - but wanton slaughter was not something he particularly enjoyed.

The Sith, from what he could tell, was the opposite. She'd enjoyed the little confrontation; the show of dominance. Darius could understand how such feelings could be intoxicating for some, even to the point of sinking themselves into the depths of the Dark Side. Yet, for him, the thought of doing such brought little more than revulsion. Inexperienced though he might be, the padawan was at the very least spiritually wise.

"My name is Darius, and I'm alone, if you were going to ask," no point in lying to the woman, "And yours?" It was only polite to ask.

Dark blue eyes narrowed as he examined his pursuer. Young, probably not much older than him. Attractive, as all Sith women tended to be given their vile magics. Just the kind of woman to be used in swaying hapless padawans to the cause.

Not me.

"I'm gonna hazard a guess and assume you didn't come after me looking for a date."

We need to move.

[member="Kaela Jaryn"]

 

[Kaela Jaryn]

[member="Darius"]

He was right about his guesses. Kaela was most certainly addicted to thepower of the Darkside - indeed, even for someone of her relatively lowly position in the Soth, she had already been deeply immersed in its nigh unbreakable grasp. Yet she was not drunk on power. A steadier head prevailed as far as she was cconcerned, and losing one's self to madness was to be avoided where possible.

"Kaela Jaryn " came her short, to the point reply. She had no intention of hiding her name - after all, what was the point? The Jedi would discover it eventually. Either this one, or another. Trying to escape the inevitable was akin to trying to put an end to the Force - entirely futile. "And as for the date-?" A coy smirk crept across her face, but truly it was more of a defence mechanism. A way for her to mask the conflict that suddenly shot through her gut like a blaster round.

This was a Jedi. One in the flesh. If she was caught fraternising with him in the slightest she would either have to kill him to prove her loyalty or be killed alongside him. What in the name of the Force was she thinking? But she couldn't help it. There was something about him, a roguelike quality. It wouldn't hurt to speak with him, would it? The thought came creeping up on her like a snake in the night. Of course it wouldn't, it reasoned. Know your enemy.

That was all it took. Immediately a plan formed. She would.. Indulge her "desire" while extracting information, and in return, a way out would be arranged for Darius from this mess. Likely she would say he died, or fell from a height into somewhere she simply couldn't follow. There'd be questions, and tightened security in the area for a while but... That was worth it to Kaela. She needed to know what these desires of hers meant, and in her mind the only way to learn was to confront.

"If you're so worried about the Nikto, then I suggest we lay low somewhere. After all, I can't simply let you go at this point, and I'm sure you understand that the only way to escape is through cooperation. Simply put, Darius, find us somewhere private to talk, and you don't die - today, at least."

She may have hated herself a little for offering the Jedi a chance at freedom, but this was an opportunity that she simply couldn't pass up.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

He'd expected a fight. That isn't what he got. His quip had been meant in challenge, something to set himself at ease. It seemed she'd taken it in an entirely different fashion - the smile was telling enough. He had no idea how to respond to that. He was just trying to survive, maybe find a nice new engine for his speeder. This whole Sith business - negotiating with them - was new and confusing. He'd need to be careful.

Kaela Jaryn.

Not a Darth or a Lord then. They always used titles rather than names. It was simply in their nature. Sith liked power; craved it. They wanted to be known for their achievements - even if those achievements were morose and gruesome. That set him at ease. An apprentice was closer to his level, not someone he should allow himself to be intimidated by.

"Just don't try any tricks. I'm not so easily fooled." He sighed. She was right, of course. If he put up some kind of fight, he would probably lose, and if he didn't there was the strong possibility that Imperials awaited him up above. Kaela was his way out - both his jailer and his savior. He'd need to appease her if he didn't want to end up in shackles.

"This level is dangerous. If you have anywhere relatively safe you know of, we should head there." It was not trust that guided his tongue, but a desire to survive.

He primed his shattergun and began walking down the alley. He could feel the Nikto's allies coming. As suspected, the gangster had friends. Darius picked up the pace.

"They're coming. Let's give them a warm welcome."

[member="Kaela Jaryn"]