Ask Bait and Switch

[Samara Draven]

Barque's End. The Rust Belt of Dubrillion, where dreams dwindled and men worked their fingers to the bone. Low paying jobs, aging factories, and declining industry had crippled the community for decades. It was where men went to die, to labor into obscurity, to breath their last in a shabby, one-room apartment. If they were lucky, that is, and didn't expire in the gutter or on the job first. It was certainly no place for two Jedi Padawans. Particularly two teenagers unchaperoned. Their supervision, by name, was Jedi Knight Nova Aboleth, a Twi'lek woman in her early thirties that preferred a hands-off approach when it came to training.

Crime had been on the rise ever since the Sith Empire had declared war on the ISC. Since Dubrillion butted up to Sith Space in the northwest and the planet had enjoyed an association with the Jedi Order, it was preparing for an invasion, beefing up security and drills Not even local law enforcement was expempt, and the beleaguered agencies found themselves overworked and understaffed.

That was where the Jedi came in. To step in, temporarily, where the local constabulary couldn't. Off-world drug dealers had gotten a foot hold in the city, flooding the streets and byways of Barque's End with their merchandise. Knight Aboleth had determined to do something about it. "You sure about this?" Samara muttered into the transmitter hidden in her ear. Somewhere up above, hiding on the rooftops and in the shadows, the Jedi Knight was keeping an eye on the pair of Padawans.
"Just don't get cocky," the Knight replied, her voice crackling in both of the teenager's ears. @LouJoVi

 

[Vandirak Hastakor]

From everything that he had read about Dubrillion, Vand never thought saw anything that mentioned the fact that Barque's End was a hell hole worthy of being considered part of Nar Shaddaa. Of course, there were the warnings about the criminal activities in this area, but nothing prepared him for the deplorable sight in front of the half-Nagai.

After the surprise, Vand returned to his reading, still aware that there was another Padawan next to him and they were going to work in this chaotic place as soon as the Knight that came with them finished giving her instructions through the comm link. He wondered why she even came, since they were going to do the mission alone.

While Samara talked with Knight Aboleth, Vand continued to focus on his Datapad. He had read a book about Dubrillion while they were traveling through space and now had started with a series of articles about the criminal presence in Barque's End. Any information could help them understand what was happening here and how they should act when working as security.

The sight of the pale boy reading while he walked after Samara was probably bizarre to those around them. However, Vand didn’t care. Understanding how to proceed in fighting the criminal elements plaguing Barque’s End was far more important.

“If anything goes wrong, we can denounce her to the Council.” Vand said nonchalantly, without even moving his eyes away from the datapad that he was reading. He thought that it would comfort Samara about the fact that they were going alone inside a city that was comparable to one of the lowest levels of Coruscant.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

There was silence, punctuated only by the splash of Samara's aged and frayed combat boots sinking into one puddle after another as she and Vandirak marched down the byway at a fast clip. It would be nothing short of a mundane miracle if the male Padawan's own shoes remained unsoiled as a result.

"You do know I can hear you... right?" Knight Aboleth's voice echoed in their ears. It was less of a rebuke and more akin to an amused observation, but Samara, already on edge due to the nature of this assignment, didn't pick up on that. She rolled her eyes. Great. Just great. They were already off on a bad food with the Jedi Knight in charge.
For the first time since they'd parted ways with the Knight, Samara looked over at the other Padawan. Her calculating gaze swept over him, violet eyes honing in on the datapad he held in his hands. "What... what is that?" she all but hissed, snatching it away from him in the seconds that followed. "We're supposed to be undercover, not waving around electronic devices!" Barque's End was the poorest district on a planet otherwise filled with beautiful, expansive oceans.

In Barque's End, there was nothing that could be called beautiful, and the only thing that expanded around here was the factory smokestacks that blotted out the sun. Since they were supposed to blend in with the locals, Vandirak and Samara were dressed accordingly. Although it was only Vandirak that had required a change of clothes, since, according to Knight Aboleth, Samra "already looked the part of a prole teenager looking to get high" with her vintage band t-shirt, torn jeans, and long-sleeved flannel.

It was hardly a compliment, but Samara hadn't complained. At least she got to wear her own clothes. Who knows what hobo the Knight had taken Vandirak's clothes from. Both of the Padawan's lightsabers were now in the possession of the Knight, and the only electronic device they were supposed to be carrying was the tiny transmitters hidden in their ears.

"Aaaaaaand I can still hear you. It's almost like you don't know how transmitters work." @LouJoVi

 

[Vandirak Hastakor]

”I know.” Vand replied to Aboleth, still without moving his eyes out of the datapad. What he said wasn’t an observation, but a warning to the Knight. She could have her methodology of leaving the Padawans to face missions alone, but it went against the prerogatives of the Council. If something happened to them, the right thing to be done was to talk with the Masters.

When Samara pulled the datapad from him, the half-Nagai stopped walking and stared at her with his typical neutral face. “Can you give it back? I’m not the only one with it in this street.” he pointed to a group of Trandoshans that were holding datapads. Once noticing that they were being watched, the reptilians hissed at the Padawans and eerily retreated in the shadows of a nearby alley.

“Besides, I need that for…” he was interrupted by the sound of the alarm of his datapad. The pale boy sighed, he had thought that there was more time until he needed to do it again. He opened the backpack that he was carrying and pulled a pack of cake rolls. Fishing one from inside it, the half-Nagai proceeded to eat.

Once he finished, Vand turned to his fellow Padawan. She probably expected an explanation for why the boy was eating in the middle of the street. He ignored Aboleth, who like all the Knights that worked with him was very aware of the half-Nagai condition. “I need sugar from time to time because I have Congenital hyperinsulinism.” he said nonchalantly, while finishing the last piece of the cake.

“The Force helps me resist longer than normal people, but I still need to consume sugar. The alarm in the datapad alerts me when it is time to eat.” while he was very aware of his condition, the half-Nagai sometimes still forgot about it. Usually when he gets distracted reading a very good book.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

That was... way too much information. Far more than Samara ever needed or certainly wanted to know about her fellow Padawan. Wasn't that something he ought to have kept to himself? In spite of the shell-shocked expression she wore, eyebrows furrowed, she couldn't stop the question that fell from her lips in a hushed, secretive tone, "So what is.... is that like genital warts or something?" The Padawan was torn between her own revulsion and the morbid curiosity that prompted the question in the first place. Hopefully—whatever it was—was curable and not easily transmitted.
"Just... give him the datapad back," came the Knight's voice, frustrated and exaggerated, in both of their ears. The boy's father had connections, and the last thing she needed right now was for another teenager to go tattling to their parents. Padawans were too soft these days for her liking. "And focus on the mission. You're going to be late if you don't hurry."

Samara didn't have to be told twice. She handed the datapad back to Vandirak without a word, dry washing her hands on her pants. Just in case.

The appointed meeting place was a dirt backstreet a few blocks from the city docks that ran parallel to a late night cobbler's shop, the only store on the street that didn't have busted out windows and doors nailed shut and barred. The alleyway was narrow, littered with so many broken crates and spilled sacks of trash that you could hardly carve a path through it all to get from one end to the other. A shattered bottle of alcohol crunched beneath Samara's boots as the pair of Padawans stood there waiting.

From this point on, they weren't to speak directly to Knight Aboleth unless absolutely necessary, else they risked blowing their cover as a couple of teenagers looking to score some drugs. The Chalactan just hoped the Knight was still keeping an eye on them.

"So... ever done this before? Drugs, I mean?" Not loitering in alleyways more than likely host to a number of diseases thought eradicated. She was just trying to make conversation, to keep her mind occupied while they waited for their contact. @LouJoVi

 

[Vandirak Hastakor]

Vand’s reaction to Samara’s question was a facepalm. He could understand her confusion about his condition. Congenital hyperinsulinism wasn’t something common and he didn’t expect all Padawans to know it. However, it was stupid that the girl associated it with warts in genitals.

It wasn’t the first time that the half-Nagai heard a Padawan make a similar comment. It made him wonder why nearly all the Jedi initiates these days seemed to be obsessed with sexual things. The justification of being hormonal teenagers didn’t work, because he was also a teen and didn’t spend all the time thinking about these things. There were also others with his age that also didn’t think this way.

From his part, Vand blames the terrible example given by the Jedi Knights. Most of them were inconsequential these days.

“Congenital hyperinsulinism means that I have low sugar in my blood. If I don’t eat sweets from time to time, I’ll faint.” he explained, while picking his datapad back. The half-Nagai wondered if Samara would understand or if he needed to use even more simple words. The Chalactan didn’t seem to be fast with her mind.

The girl dry washing her hands basically confirmed to him that she was dumb.

Following Aboleth’s orders, the two Padawans walked through one of the dirt backstreets of this place. Vand noticed how the entrances of the buildings were blocked, an obvious signal that this place was filled with crime.

When he heard the girl’s question, Vand immediately turned to look at her. “No, I never did it.” he wondered if Samara thought that he was some type of addict. His pale skin was natural, he was a half-Nagai after all. “Did you?”

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

"Then why didn't you just say you have low blood sugar like a normal person?" Samara questioned, her tone dripping with sarcasm she didn't attempt to veil and her expression pinched. The Chalactan looked away after that, crossing her arms and leaning up against the brick wall of the cobbler's workshop.
How was she supposed to know what. con... con-whatever-the-kriff-it-was-he-said was? Medical ailments wasn't exactly a pastime of hers, and she didn't have her nose glued to a datapad day in and day out either. Vandirak evidently did. That would explain his washed out complexion. He looked like he had never stepped outside or basked in the sunlight a day in his life. Not even she was that pale, and she had the worst time tanning. Always had.

Neither Padawan had made a good first impression on the other, and Samara, for one, was not looking to make a second. They'd never seen each other before this assignment, and it wasn't likely that they would see one another after it was over either. For now, they just had to grin and bear it until this assignment was over and their lives were no longer at risk. The Chalactan looked over at him again. Well, they had to at least bear it.

"No, never have," she replied, shaking her head but keeping her gaze locked on the alley in front of them. A few of her friends had since they attended concerts and music festivals every chance they got.

"Seeeee? You two have more in common than you think!" Knight Aboleth spoke up, her tone annoyingly cheerful. Samara had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, instead tapping her foot impatiently against the brick wall she was leaning against. She would have preferred the Knight keep out of this, but at least now they knew she was close.

The Padawans wouldn't be kept waiting much longer. Three tall figures with long gaits appeared out of nowhere, the mist parting around them as they cut down the backstreet. Right toward Vandirak and Samara. @LouJoVi

 

[Vandirak Hastakor]

”Because I thought that people had more culture these days.” Vand muttered, while rolling his eyes. He was getting more and more annoyed by this girl and regretted having come to this mission. If he had stayed in the Temple, the pale boy would be reading a good book and not dealing with someone as dumb as Samara.

“Good.” Vand would not have patience to deal with an addict. The girl already seemed to be dumb and if she used drugs it would be impossible for her to focus. If this mission needed him to carry someone like that on his back, the half-Nagai was already prepared to throw in the towel. Aboleth could do that alone if she wanted.

The half-Nagai felt tempted to roll his eyes when he heard the Knight say that they have something in common. If the fact that he didn’t use drugs made him similar to someone, then he was like half of the Galaxy. Besides that, the two also had more things different between them. For example, Samara was dumb.

He was so distracted thinking about their differences that he didn’t notice when the three individuals appeared until they were close to them. Vans immediately turned to look at them, before elbowing Samara.

“We aren’t alone anymore.” the Padawan said, while putting his hands inside the pocket of his coat. He felt his lightsaber hidden below it. If they tried to do something, the pale boy was already prepared to fight.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Culture? Was that really what he thought culture was? Having an encyclopedia of diseases, disorders, and maladies memorized? Sheesh. Vandirak really needed to get a life. If the two Padawans hadn't been off to such a bad start, she probably would have offered to take him to see a concert or something. Anything to get his nose out of that datapad, not to mention out of the air.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," she muttered under her breath with an impatient and rather unattractive snort. She didn't consider the possibility that he was addressing the Knight listening in since he elbowed her. "And don't touch me!" she added as an afterthought, bristling.
Knight Aboleth didn't give two bantha ticks about their argument or their obvious dislike for one another. As Jedi, they would be forced to work alongside many allies that felt more like enemies. Whether or not they liked one another really didn't matter at the end of the day. They still had a job to do, and they would need to learn sooner rather than later not to allow petty squabbles and personal predilections to get in the way of their work. "Remember," she spoke quietly, "Stay in character. We need to follow them to the source."

That was what this assignment was really about, after all. Not to capture a couple of drug pushers out on the street but to stop the drug supply at the source. Or, if that proved an impossible task, as close to the source as possible.

The permanent mist that had settled on Barque's End decades ago and never left continued to swirl and dissipate, parting until the three figures reached the pair of Padawans. To the left stood a human male, astonishingly attractive for someone in this line of work, with a strong jawline and square chin and a small scar that ran the length of his right eye. Samara supposed she had always labored under the incorrect assumption that career criminals were the worst of the worst, in all areas. The figure in the middle "fit the bill" more, with sallow, sickly green skin and a single, vertical pupil that stared at the Padawans, unblinking. To the right stood a furry sentient with four dark eyes and an elongated mouthpart, happily sipping an Emryc Energy drink through a straw.

"A lil young for this, aren't ya?" the cyclops spoke, pairing the question with an uncomfortable grin that exposed both rows of teeth, yellow and rotting. He sighed in mock dismay. "Gettin' younger an' younger every day." Due, no doubt, to his own efforts. "Pleasantries" aside, he exhaled and pulled out a cigar for his own use. "Ya got credits?" @LouJoVi

 

[Vandirak Hastakor]

”Then act like an idiot in front of them. I don’t care.” Vand said, while gesturing at the figures that were approaching them. While he didn't talk much, the half-Nagai wasn’t the most patient individual. He only wasn’t used to voice his annoyance. However, Samara seemed to be making him feel the desire to scream in frustration.

He rolled his eyes when Aboleth warned them through the comlink. If she continued criticizing them, Vand would say to her that she should be the one doing this mission rather than sending two Padawans to face a group of drug dealers alone. It was irresponsible on her part.

When the mist dissipated enough for them to see their surroundings, Vand noticed that the individuals approaching them were an Abyssin and a Talz. They were dressed like the typical low criminals that someone would see in a holomovie. Unfortunately, it meant that they were talking with simple dealers, rather than with the bosses.

“You don’t need to have a certain age to start using drugs.” Vand said, annoyed with how the Abyssin seemed to be talking too much rather than going directly to business. “We have the credits.” he had the pleasure of elbowing Samara once again, this time harder. While the two criminals would think that he was asking her for the money, he only wanted to tease the girl.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

Samara had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from snapping at the other Padawan. Again. She inched away from him instead, crossing her arms as she tried to ignore the caustic elbow he jabbed into her side, only sparing him one brief glance that clearly spelled out, Don't touch me again, without any words.
"Nah need to 'ell me, sonny," the cyclops laughed, exchanging a knowing look with the other two goons. He was still grinning, chapped lips spread wide, but it was as genuine as the white flag of a Tusken Raider. He had taken an instant disliking to both of the Padawans. Samara could just sense it. "Don't ma'er to me how old ya are." He stepped closer, leveraging his weight and height against the teenagers to try and speed things along. He didn't have all night. "Sa long as ya pay."

Samara wanted nothing more than to tuck tail and run. Even if Knight Aboleth was lurking on the rooftop directly above them, it still wasn't close enough for comfort. Especially without her lightsaber. "Here," she said, reaching a hand into her pocket and fishing around. The three dope peddlers watched, the cyclops puffing on his cigarra until she produced a handful of credit chits—the exact amount agreed upon. Plus a tracker in case the padawan's attempts at persuasion were unsuccessful.

The cyclops' grin only grew, and he jerked his head toward the human at his side. "Let ol' Larry count it, that's a good girl."

Bristling at being called "a good girl," Samara nearly obeyed the command, tossing the chits to "Ol' Larry" to count but thought better of it at the last second. "First let me see the goods," she cleared her throat, trying to sound unintimidated. Was that something people really said? "The goods?" Or was that just in holo movies?

Larry pulled a bag out of his suit pocket, dangling it in front of the teenagers with a wicked gleam in his eyes. Evidently he really enjoyed his work. Inside the bag was raw, loose powder. Coruscanti Crude by name, the scourge of the Queen of the Core. One of the most addictive psychotropic drugs on the market. @LouJoVi

 

[Vandirak Hastakor]

Vand merely smirked with Samara’s reaction. The half-Nagai wasn’t the type that liked to tease or bully others, but he would open an exception for the other Padawan. She deserved all that for saying that he wasn’t a normal person. When this mission ended, he would find more ways of teasing her during the trip back to the Temple.

Apparently his answer to the Abyssin was enough to convince him to sell them the drugs, or at least was what he could understand. The man’s accent was so thick that Vand needed much effort to even identify some simple things. It made the pale boy even more impatient and wanting to leave.

The half-Nagai wanted to roll his eyes when he heard the Abyssin call Samara a good girl. The female Padawan was probably one of the more nasty individuals he had interacted with. She would easily be in one of the highest positions in his particular list of people that he dislikes, and that list wasn’t short.

He turned to look at Samara, when she asked the dealers to show them the drugs before giving them the money. Vand was impressed, it was a very clever thought on her part. Perhaps the girl wasn’t so dumb as he had expected.

When the criminals revealed the drug for them, Vand only nodded. It seemed to be the thing that they came after. Now they needed to pay and the two could leave this place. This mission was going to be short.

@llamallove

 

[Samara Draven]

"Lovely, innit?" the cyclops flashed a wicked grin the Padawan's way, dangling the bag in front of their faces, the same way a caretaker might bait and goad a chained beast. Teenagers. Wild animals. They were all the same to him.

Samara's "partner in crime" had opted to remain silent throughout the exchange—either frightened or overwhelmed or possibly a little of both. Not that she could blame him, but his silence did vex her. A hurried glance was cast between Vandirak and the trio, just to make sure she wasn't making a mistake, before the credit chits were handed over as demanded.

"I knew ya was a goo' girl," the cyclops purred, turning the bag over and over in his hands as he watched the human, Larry by name, count the chits. Samara watched, too, her pulse raising as they all awaited the verdict. The cylops for a final tally, Samara to see if the tracker would be discovered. If it was, that would be the end of the mission. They'd have to regroup with Knight Aboleth, if they could escape their disgruntled business associates, that is.

It was no small relief when Larry said in a satisfied tone, , "All present and accounted for." He hadn't noticed it.

Then, with an air of finality, the bag of crude was flung toward the Padawans, and the cyclops concluded, "Nice doing business with ya." He had gotten what he had come for, but the Padawans were no closer to their objective.

"Wait—" the Chalactan impulsively began, before the trio were halfway across the alleyway. She exchanged a strained look with Vandirak, clearly not sure how to finish that sentence or how to proceed. She didn't have time to come up with anything clever. "Is this all you have?" Perhaps they could talk the drug dealers in to leading them right to their supply, if they were persuasive enough and flashed enough credits. Or perhaps they'd only make them angrier. There was only one way to find out.

tracker success 20/20 @LouJoVi

 

[Vandirak Hastakor]

Vand groaned loudly when the Abyssin started to shake the bag with the drugs in front of the Padawans. He wondered what was the problem of these people. Rather than picking the money at once, they preferred to stay teasing them. Don’t they have something more important to do? Like trying to sell their drugs in a nightclub or something like that.

When Samara gave the credits to the criminals, the Abyssin once again said that she was a good girl. Another groan escaped Vand’s lips, this time with disgust. This talk was making him more and more annoyed. If he stayed more around these people, the Padawan would end blowing their disguise.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the guy called Larry finally finished counting the credits. Finally they were going to finish this business and Vand would be able to return to the ship and continue with his reading.

Unfortunately, Samara decided to continue talking with these criminals. Vand wanted to hit her with his elbow again, but the drug dealers were looking at them. Without much choice, the half-Nagai decided to continue with whatever plan she had. “Yes. Don’t you have some more? We can pay.”

@llamallove