Private Wasn't Supposed to Happen

[Kade]

Denon.

When Kade first heard about Denon his interest was piqued, because it sounded as if it was similar to Coruscant. That however was not the case. Not to him anyway.

Kade found himself in Suicide Slums, one of the wards in the Seven Corners district. Probably one of the worst ones. The reason: Low quality living conditions, crime everywhere, and lack of intrest to the Corporate Authority of Denon. The people who live here live in lopsided homes, and live like every day was their last.

So what was Kade doing there? He was selling some scrap parts from a couple droids he dismantled, he had to get income somehow. The teen stood in a warn down building that was refurbished (badly) into some sort of droid shop. The teen brought the parts to the counter and laid them out. A large man looked at the various parts with displeasure.

"I'll give you a handful of Corporate Authority Cash Vouchers but thats all I can do." The man said with a smirk. Kade sighed. Those voucher wouldn't do him any good anywhere else but Denon.

"What about actual credits?" Kade countered. The man's smirk only grew. Which was very disturbing to the teen.

"Now why would I do that? This is a legitimate business you can take it or leave it....or do I have to get the Corpos involved?" The man asked in a threatening tone. Kade knew it was mostly a bluff but he wouldn't take the chance. The teen took the cash vouchers and left.

"At least I can grab something to eat now." Kade said to himself as he looked down at the cash vouchers. He had spent all day scrounging broken droids for parts only to get a handful of pay. Disgusting.

He was about to head to Sakedo Tower in the commercial ward; to grab a bite to eat when he was stopped by a group of thugs with blasters.

"Hand it over." One of the thugs said referring to the cash vouchers in his hand.

Crap...This wasn't supposed to happen.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

The Suicide Slums.. Kahlil had no idea why he was walking through them, but there he was. The Knight rubbed the back of his head as he looked around. That's right. There was a droid seller around here. Or, at least, a part seller. His own droid needed some repairs after an unfortunate incident with his ship being blown up. That also meant all his credits were gone, save for the few he had on him.

Right, it was all coming back.

He kept to himself as much as he could. Being as tall as he was, he often towered over most of those he walked past. They gave him a wide berth, which was probably for the best. The last thing he needed was to get recognized and have more bounty hunters come after him. Kahlil glanced around curiously as he walked. Something was off.. Danger.

Just his luck he'd wander into the dark alley just as a mugging was going down. The young man kept his hands up, smiling disarmingly. "Oh. Uh. Hey. You should leave the kid alone, yeah? Small fry like that aren't worth this much effort."

Kade

 

[Kade]

There were a few moments of silence. While Kade had seen people get mugged before, he had never been one to get mugged. Being on the receiving end of a blaster was a whole different story. How did this even happen? The teen usually kept to his rules and didn't draw too much attention to himself. Something must've went wrong.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by a calm voice.

"Oh. Uh. Hey. You should leave the kid alone, yeah? Small fry like that aren't worth this much effort." The man said. The thugs turned their attention to the man, training their blasters on him that is until... then they noticed his height. Not willing to take their chances, the thugs indeed realized that the payoff wouldn't be worth the effort and took off down the alleyway.

Kade sighed in relief and lowered his arms. Taking a second to put the cash vouchers away before turning to the man.

"Hey thanks for that I-" He stopped mid-sentance as his eyes fell upon the man. A look of surprise washed over the teen's face.

Damn he's tall.

He shook his head and recollected his thoughts.

Kade craned his head up to the man to make eye contact.

"Thank you. Uh..my name is Kade." The teen said.

"And seeing as you saved me from having today's wages taken from me. Is there any way I can repay you?" Kade asked as he ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't used to having people save him, and didn't exactly know what else to offer.


Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil let out a relieved sigh as the thugs decided to move away. That'd keep him secret for a little while longer. The Epicanthix rubs the back of his head as he looks around to make sure it wasn't some sort of trap. Then he'd relax. He turned his gaze to Kade, raising a brow curiously. Oh, right. Most people aren't use to his height. He gives an awkward smile as he tries to be friendly. Didn't help that he was just being hunted.

"No no, don't worry about it. I just happened to wander by." He pauses. "Actually, you know where I can get some droid parts? My buddy got messed up and I'm tryin to fix him. Need a couple parts."

 

[Kade]

Kade looked around for a moment when Kahlil asked if there was a place to find droid parts. He could've suggested the place he just went to, but the teen burned that bridge. Kade looked back to Kahlil.

"You're probably not going to find any help here. Lot of the businesses here only accept these." Kade said as he pulled out the cash vouchers. It was a real pain but it was the only way to get by.

"But, its not all lost. I can help you out. It's the least I can do. I know a few places to salvage parts from, and can fix up your friend." Kade said with a smile.

Kade motioned for the tall man to follow as he began walking out of the alley and deeper into the slums.

"Be on your guard. Real dangerous out here. Crime like you wouldn't belive." Kade said as he walked.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil peered suspiciously at these.. Cash vouchers? Monopoly money even. Not real payments. Was life that bad in this place? He rubbed the back of his neck as he retreated into his mind to think, though Kade snapped him out of it as the boy continued to speak. He gives a nod to him, keeping quiet for now as he accepts the boys help. Kahlil was lost here after all. The tall man follows along, double checking he still had his lightsaber and it was still on his hip, out of view, as he went.

"It's that bad.. Alright. I'm sure you'll know danger before I do, so I'm in your care." Kahlil pauses before chuckling.

"Right. I'm Kahlil."

 

[Kade]

Kade kept his eyes peeled as the continued to walk. The streets were a bit busier than the teen liked, but Kade figured the two should be fine. He made a turn into an alleyway. Kade let out a dry chuckle.

"To call it bad is an understatement. Probably one of the most corrupt panets in the galaxy. But thats just my opinion. Perfectat a glance, broken when you take a look closer." Kade said with a shoulder shrug. Kade led Kahlil further down the alley past groups of homeless people: never once flinching as he passed them by. It was an all too common thing here.

Kade cleared his throat. "So Kahlil. what kind of droid do you have? We should be coming up on the the spot soon." Kade said as he looked back to the man. Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Perfect, but actually broken on a closer inspection. Kahlil immediately thought of a lot of Sith space and what he had seen. What he had done. He frowns to himself as he went through the memories, but quickly pushed them back down. He was still hunted. And his droid needed the parts. The Jedi looked sadly to the number of homeless.

This was a pretty bad place.

"He's an R unit. Some of his wheels were shattered, along with one of his legs."

 

[Kade]

Kade stole a glance back at Kahlil, he seemed to be in deep thought. Maybe remembering something. Kade knew that look all too well, haunts of the past. They never truly go away, only linger and come up at the worst possible moments.

Eventually the homeless faded away into the background as they took another turn. The pair would come upon an old rundown building. Kade would pull open the door and walk in.

"Welcome to my humble home." Kade would say sarcastically. Looking around the rundown building someone could notice the remnants of a workshop, that was once pristine long ago. Now its just littered with broken droids of all kinds.

"An R unit huh? Should be easy enough." Kade said. The teen proceeded to a workbench and knocked away the junk that was laying on it. He deftly walked tover to another pile and found an R series astromech. He grabbed it an hoisted it up to the workbench, where he began to work on removing it.

"So what's your story Kahlil? Not many people decide to help complete strangers, especially here." Kade commented.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Home? Kahlil was painfully reminded of just how poor many in the galaxy was. He had friends who lived in these sorts of places. How were they doing? He didn't know. He steps inside and follows behind Kade with a look of mild surprise as the boy pulls up a ruined astromech. He watches on curiously, especially as the teen dismantles the droid remains.

"My stories pretty boring, not gonna lie. I travel the galaxy. And y'know. Not a fan of folks getting roughed up. Especially when it's a bunch of folks with guns against one kid. What about you? What's your story?"

 

[Kade]

Kade continued to work for a bit, only raising his head and looking over to Kahlil when the man started to speak. Kahlil admitted that his story was boring, which caused the teen to think there was more to it. The only time you say your story is boring, is if it really isnt, Kade decided to drop the thought because he didn't feel like prying into someone else's past: especially if they didn't want to talk about it.

Kahlil asked about his story, which made Kade pause his work and wipe his hands on a dirty rag. He turned his full attention to Kahlil.

"Well, if you want me to tell ya...take a seat." Kade said as he dragged a stool out from under his workbench and kicked it across the floor to Kahlil.

The teen lead up against the workbench and smiled.

"I wasn't born here, I was born on Coruscant. My parents were business owners there. They were responsible for manufacturing various droids, So I've always had an intrest in how these things worked." Kade tapped the side of the R unit for emphasis.

"Apparently the manufacturing business is a bit more cutthroat than they realized, so they got involved with shady stuff. What? I can't really say, I don't quite know myself. But next thing I knew: I was being chased out of the company building by a group of armed mercenaries." Kade paused for a minute and took a breath.

"Next thing I know I'm homeless on the lower levels of Coruscant,Wandering the sketchy maze that makes it up. A few weeks into it, I met someone that told me about Denon. Said there was a group that could use my skills." Kade said. He turned back to the astromech and continued working.

"So thats what I've been doing, helping some group, and making cash along the way. I know this place isn't much and this planet has the same problems as Coruscant. But I can say it's mine." Kade turned back to Kahlil and beamed a genuine smile.

"Though one day I'll figure out what happend with my parents." Kade said as he removes the wheels off the astromech and set them aside. the teen then began on removing the leg.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil casually caught the stool, though not with his hand. Just from sheer habit the Jedi would lift it mid slide to a spot that seemed comfortable before he took a seat on it. He listened to Kade 's tale intently, one of his legs bouncing in a sort of restlessness of someone who just needs to keep moving. He gives an approving nod to the place around him, smiling warmly.

"Having a place of your own is big. I know that feeling all too well. I'm glad you're able to make some kind of living down here."

 

[Kade]

Kade didn't expect a smile and a look of approval from Kahlil. Usually people just looked in disgust at the run down place. Kade got back to work.

Kade finally got the leg of the discarded droid loose enough to pull off with one final heave. The teen let out a sigh. Kahlil then began to speak as Kade began packing the parts into a bag. The teen turned to the man.

"Even if the living is only cash vouchers...I dunno, I think its worth it." Kade said as he looked around the room. He planned on slowly fixing it up.

Kade smiled at Kahlil "Well I'm all set here, where's your friend? Let's go get him fixed up." Kade said as he made his way to the door.

"So are you a Jedi, Sith, or something in between?" Kade asked his face and tone not betraying him.
Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Back somewhere safe. Took a bit to find it, but I'm pretty sure I remember the way back." Kahlil gets up as Kade finishes, nodding his head. He'd reach out to help carry some the parts and take the lead out of the room. He paused though, once he reached the door and the boy asked him about his powers. Right. The Epicanthix reminds himself to be a bit more careful about how casual he uses the Force.

"Jedi." He doesn't miss a beat in the conversation, once more leading the way out. "Why?"

 

[Kade]

Kade nodded and was grateful the man decided to help him carry the parts. Without missing a breath Kahlil answered Jedi. Kade followed Kahlil out.

"Just curious, haven't seen much Force users, especially here in the slums, or on Coruscant. Usually kept my head down. But you being a Jedi is probably part of the reason you saved me." Kade paused for a second. "Sorry for the personal question, but have you ever killed someone?" Kade asked a serious tone filling his voice.

"It's just so common, it's a tad unnerving."

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil stays silent after the question, not looking to Kade as they seem to be thinking hard on the question. He eventually sighs, closing his eyes before looking back to the teen. "I have, yes. Some because I had to, others because I wanted to in a life I've done my best to make amends for. It is.. Sadly common. Too common."

 

[Kade]

There was a stretch of silence before Kahlil finally spoke. Conviction filled his voice, something which was enough to earn Kade's respect. The teen nodded in understanding. There was absolutely no judgements from him.

Kade walked silently after Kahlil's revelation, formulating a response in his head. Kade took a breath.

"Thats all that can be done. We can't bring back the dead, but we can move past it and try to make the galaxy a better place. In the end it's yourself that will judge you the most... but you probablyalready know that." Kade said with a small smile.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

The young man pauses and looks to Kade , blinking in surprise. After a moment he returns the smile, chuckling. "You're wiser then some Jedi Masters I've met over the years." Kahlil once more leads the way back to his friend, and sure enough the R unit beeps weakly as Kahlil enters the small room he had rented out with the last of his money. The tall man crouches down beside it, patting it's dome.

"He'll fix you up in no time, R6."

 

[Kade]

Soon they came up to what Kade assumed was a room the man rented. The teen followed Kahlil in. Kade would chuckle at Kahlil's statement.

"Not wiser I'm afraid." Kade smirked as he kneeled down next to the droid.

"Just seen enough to realize things need to change." Kade added. He set some of the parts down on the floor and stood up.

"Nice to meet you R6." Kade said to the droid with a warm smile. The teen looked to Kahlil. "It shouldn't take too long," Kade paused as he crouched back down and examined the droid's damage. "He's definitely repairable." Kade looked over to the droid, then began taking out the replacement parts.

"Hey buddy, mind if I start fixing you up?" Kade asked the droid.

Kahlil Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"<R6=Unsure._Teen=Friend?>" There's a soft trill of beeps from R6 as it looks in Kahlil's direction curiously. The taller man gives the droid a nod and R6 lets Kade work on it unimpeded. Kahlil sits down and relaxes in a nearby chair, glancing to the door. Just making sure they weren't followed, though he wouldn't be too surprised if they were.

"Times do need to change. I hope they will, at least."