Pursuit of the Taboo in Tundra

[Abrakhal Grisgoh]

NAR SHADDAA
01:15​

Abe watched a rusty speeder hum by from behind a stained wooden board between two long forgotten construction bars, looked around at the few unfortunate souls wandering these parts, then up to the pink neon woman blinking above the Four Roses across the street. He sighed disappointedly.

"Where is this karking fool?" he growled softly back over his shoulder with a questioning wave of his upturned hand. "He's an hour late." "Fifteen minutes," Richard quickly corrected. "Wha?" "It is precisely fifteen minutes after the designated meet time." "What'eryou doing here, Richard? You're too conspicuous. I told you to hang back." Richard looked up at his arms, currently hanging from a bar, then back at Abe with a clueless blink, "I..." "Not like that, you flipping idiot," he quickly turned from Richard back to the other, "What's this guy's name again? The dealer?"

@Isaac of Inok @Terria Cyrrl

 

[Terria Cyrrl]

"Michev Frellger" Terria replied, kicking herself away from the wall of The Four Roses and moving over to her current partner in crime. Being a Jedi was a relatively new thing to her, but she had done enough missions like a conventional Rebel that she felt comfortable enough in those environments. The White Robes had disappeared, replaced by a black jacket, top, blue trousers, and black heeled boots. She had even applied spray and makeup to change her skin tone and dyed her hair brown. If anyone from Jedha were to see her now, they would most likely have a bit of trouble actually recognizing her - it was astonishing just how differently you could look with a little change here and there like posture and body language, in addition to the physical changes of course.

It was pretty amusing in its own right, especially with her allies who were expecting someone whiter than Hoth. It took Abe a few seconds to actually recognize her when she had initially met with him, but he actually caught on quicker than most - probably due to the Force within them both. It was prudent in her mind, especially when you had a distinctive look, gave you more freedom to move around. She looked up at The Four Roses with a sigh, looking around aimlessly. She did get where Abe was coming from when he moaned about the time they were waiting, but all the same, this was just what was happening, no point in complaining. "Patience Abe, he'll be here," She said softly, smiling at him and sticking a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I know you just wanna get into it, but all good things come to those that wait, yeah?"

@Styx

 

[Abrakhal Grisgoh]

"I guess," he capitulated like a kid who couldn't go out and play until recess. He didn't even flinch when she touched his shoulder, either a sign of his frustrations distracting him beyond the realization or that she'd become familiar enough. Or maybe he was improving, unlikely as that may seem.

Abe dramatically rolled sideways against the bars up to a stand, finding grips of the bars on either side and he scuffed a heel through the pavement across his leg and folded it there while he leaned back against the bars. It was quiet here for where it was, eerie. Abe didn't mind. He sighed too, leaving the watch to Terria.

"At least we ditched lazy eye," he chuckled. Richard touched his eye lights and Abe rolled his, "Not you," thumb over shoulder, "the sleezball from the last level up. You know, the guy who kept watching Terria like this," mimic some hunched creature with a limp, dragging one leg toward Terria. Okay, maybe he was exaggerating. Yet even his jokes were shaded by his depressive undertone, still somehow looking slightly annoyed even when having a good time. That was just Abe. He couldn't put on a mask and act like everything was fine. But he still made fun of people just like everybody else.

Upon refocusing on Terria, in jest, he realized he had mostly ignored her new look without explanation. There was the mission, after all. Abe wasn't much for interest in others, unless they were a starving kitten or good natured little kid, but considering the lack of anything else going on around here, he found himself asking anyway, in his half surly half friendly sort of way.

"So, what's with the makeover, anyway? Trying to outwit your stalker?"

Richard also somehow looked interested, as much as any droid could, turning in on her with baited breath.


@Panda

 

[Eithni Vala Stark]

Not far from where Abe and the others stood, a man walked on the other side of the street, heading for the Four Roses. The man matched the description, but he looked rather on edge like he expected someone to suddenly jump out from the shadows and attack him. He stopped by the entrance of the Four Roses and glanced one last time over his shoulder, before entering and disappearing inside. Not long after a hooded person in what looked like very ragged clothing appeared from the shadows and walked towards the Four Roses. Before the person also disappeared inside the bar, it looked around, showed a young girls face.

Inside the bar, it smelled like a mix between Tabac, vomit and sweat. Eithni almost wanted to run away screaming, boy it was hideous inside the Four Roses, which ironic had roses in its name. She got a few stares but mostly kept to themselves or their group. She skimmed the bar for the smuggler's contact and found him within a few seconds and kept her distance, but still close enough to be within earshot.

The smuggler's contact sat and talked with who Eithni only would guess, was the smuggler himself, good. The smuggler had stolen something from her not long ago, and she wanted it back. She did not care how long or how she would get onto the smuggler's ship, but one way or another, she would sneak on his ship. The only problem was, she did not know where the smuggler's ship was parked, so she had to follow his damn contact.

@Styx

 

[Abrakhal Grisgoh]

Pause. Then, seeing the flick of Terria's eyes focus on something behind him, Abrakhal flinched. Resisting the urge to spin around, he slowly turned a look over his shoulder and melted sideways into the bars. He'd forgotten about his question just as quickly as he'd asked it.

Now, there, just outside the bar across the street was a figure that Abe squinted at through the dark, details coming into view. "Is that," he asked with an excited yet hushed breath. He wouldn't wait for her to answer, waving his hand back, quick with a tense, "Wait." Abe frowned at the apparent suspicious behavior, not yet sure what to make of it. He'd expected the guy to be secretive, but still, what with the lateness, Abe started to think something had already gone wrong.

Abe started, then stopped again to the sight of another, much more out of place ...girl? Her rags were most peculiar, and also enticing in an interesting sort of way in context of the mission's mystery. He couldn't contain himself. He shoved Richard's chest out of the way, hopped over the bars into the street, and blindly ordered back to them both, "Keep a lookout!"

He jogged across the street to the garage bar, looking both ways for more passerby's and, seeing none, tried a quick peek through the fogged up windows as he popped his coat collar with a shirk of the neck. It was no use. The windows were deliberately clouded like that. Immediately assuming a more pedestrian demeanor, like a character, he lowered his head and slowed his stride; stuffing his hands in his coat pockets, he shouldered the door and slinked inside.

Abe wrinkled his nose as soon as he stepped inside. The initial smell was invasive. Abe also got a glance from a patron and quickly looked for the bar. Instead he caught sight of those rags and forgot to think, as usual, carried by his feet right toward her. While her attention was on someone else, Abe snuck up on her and plopped down in the rickety seat next to her as though he was meeting her.

"Hey," he greeted, gravelly voice. He'd hoped to unnerve her with his sudden and unwarranted familiarity. He raised a finger to the distant bartender and pointed at the two of them here as though asking for some drinks, then shifted in his groaning seat that scratched the wood flooring and returned his focus to her. He'd continue, just quiet enough that someone might hear but probably wouldn't, "You tailing that guy?"

In his clumsy way he thought he could dive right into the situation, making assumptions at the outset and hopefully get her talking if she knew anything about this smuggler guy what's-his-name and the other one, Michev Frellger.

@Raven_41

 

[Eithni Vala Stark]

Eithni gave a small yelp the moment Abrakhal greeted her and which turned a few heads around them. The young girl looked flustered and rather uncomfortable by the situation. A chair suddenly scratched the floor, which made Eithni look over at her target, who was gone! "Damnit!" mumbled the young girl and ran pass where Abrakhal and out into the back room, after the contact.

The bartender came over to Abrakhal's table with what he ordered for him and... no one else? Nevermind, he still placed the drinks down at the table, "350" said the bartender with a hand out, waiting for Abrakhal to pay for the drinks.

Eithni entered what looked like a sort of storage room and was about to curse when she saw an open backdoor to most likely a back-alley. She went into the back-alley and just saw her target turn around a corner, going into a much busier street and acted more like the main street to get to other sectors on Nar Shaddaa. Eithni walked down the back-alley until she got to where it merged with the main street. "Damnit damnit damnit!" Curse Eithni as she lost her damn target in the large crowd of beings.

This was not good, she needed this guy, his smuggler friend took something from her and she wanted it back! The young Nightsister walked back and forth a bit with her hands in her hair as she tried to figure out what to do now. She could try her luck and see if she could find the man, but that would be a very big if. She could, of course, use Blood Trail, but she always disliked tainting her own blood. She could also get high enough to get an overview of all the people, yea, she liked that idea better and went with that.

Eithni looked around herself and found the building right next to her, like a good vantage point for scouting. She took a few steps back and ran towards the tall build's wall. She jumped just at the right time and jumped the moment she landed on the wall with her feet and hands. She grabbed onto a locked letter and started to climb the fire escape stairs on the outside of it, instead of using the stairs on the inside of it. She easily made it to the top and got up on the roof of the building and got a great view of all the busy people on the street.

@Styx

 

[Abrakhal Grisgoh]

"Wait," he blurted out. Confusion smacked him square in the face, looking after her as though she didn't get it. She didn't understand that he was confidently sitting here, that he was supposed to have startled her, in a good way that was beneficial to him. He was in control; didn't she get that, that she had missed her line or something, that she was supposed to be spilling the beans now and he was there to flaunt his superiority.

Instead, Abrakhal was left with a hand out to her and the bartender was waiting for his 350. Abe only owned the dumb look on his face and couldn't even spare that, checking back to the missing smuggler and then back to the storeroom doorway.

He snapped upright, chair flung on its back, grabbed the dishwater drink and swigged it, spat it out onto the bartender's shoulder with an unintelligible sound of disgust, took another swallow, then splashed its remaining contents in the bartender's face, and took off after the girl in rags. He ran as fast as he could, hearing the whole of the bar start with an uproar behind him. He stumbled into storage, knocking over racks of supplies and overturning more half-full cylinders to help secure his escape. The back door left ajar was his only option, scrambling for the exit with shouting voices behind.

Abe tumbled out into the alley and into the opposing wall, catching a glimpse of the girl already catching onto the fire escape and starting to climb. He coughed, "Girl!"

He kept after her, galloping from his hands to his feet along the wall to a door just under her. He jiggled the handle and banged his shoulder, but it was locked. Angry biker guys poured out of the exit and Abrakhal bashed in the door with his heel. He crashed into the dark room and over a sofa. Back onto his feet and he was sprinting into a hallway and up the stairs, voices hollering after him. Doors were opening, heads popping out, as the voices grew in number. He even felt a hand swipe at his heel as he pulled at the railing to help him jump-skip steps.

Lights switched on and boots pounded amidst the shouting until he burst out through the doors to the roof and slammed them shut with his back, digging in his heels. And there she was, looking out over the busy streets. "Hey," he wheezed, "I asked you a question."


@Raven_41

 

[Eithni Vala Stark]

Eithni heard one call for her, as she had climbed the fire escape, but ignored it, she was busy with something else. As she stood at the edge of the roof, the sound of a door suddenly getting forced open and then shut again, followed by the same voice. Eithni ignored the voice, she had to find the contact and her target, or she would never get her bow back. Then the man continued to talk to her. "Leave me alone" was her response, almost like with a distant in her voice, as if she really didn't pay attention to his questions. She continued to scan the busy street, come on, come on, he got to be somewhere down there!

There! There was no mistake. Somewhere further away, in the middle of the broad street, was the contact, looking almost frantically over his shoulder. Eithni would never be able to catch the contact to the smuggler if she ran down the building again and had to pass through the crowd. Luckily, she had a solution to her problem, even if it would catch a lot of looks from everyone around her.

Eithni started to back peddle from the edge of the roof, to where Abrakhal held the door closed, which still had angry bikers behind, trying to get in. Eithni narrowed her eyes, placing herself in a running position and suddenly Eithni's eyes started to glow with a thick green mist. Eithni was off, the moment her eyes started to glow and ran with all her might towards the edge of the roof, and jumped.

But instead of falling, levitated the young girl from the roof and towards the contact to the smuggler, and away from Abrakhal, yet again. Eithni levitated directly through the air of Nar Shaddaa like it was nothing and due to that, she was able to easily, catch up to her target. Though she got quite a few surprised looks and stares as that was nothing they had ever experience before. Some of the pedestrians even started to walk away from Eithni's location, due to her looking like some kind of powerful being. The contact saw Eithni land and fell over his own feet, "Ahh leave me alone monster!" Said the contact now really freaking out. "Where's the smuggler?" Asked Eithni and drew one of her vibroblades and walked towards the contact.

@Styx

 

[Abrakhal Grisgoh]

"Uh. That might be impossible," he half jokingly, half alarmingly answered. His feet shuffled and scraped at the rooftop as the first bump of the door came from the bikers at his back. He pressed it back shut with a grunt. He tried splitting his attention between watching her and searching for something he could use to bar the door with, but neither yielded much result. The door banged ajar again, and he slammed it shut again. He watched helplessly as she rose and stepped back towards him, beginning to hope that she might be forced to come back his way and help; after all there was no other way off this dead-end rooftop. But then the realization of her stance changed his expression from distress to shock in doubt. He shook his head, despite her not being able to see it, then watched her take off in disbelief.

"No!" He called out to save her from herself, but instead beheld the miracle of the Force. His jaw hung open as he blew an astonished breath of hot air. No sooner than after she descended out of sight was the door bashed open behind him and he was flung forward. Bikers emerged out of the exit and formed a circle, the bartender among them with a still dripping wet scowl.

"You're going to pay for that," the bartender sneered. Others beat clubs and bruisers in their palms, on the edges of their eager toes. They closed in on Abrakhal, forcing him to follow his heels to the edge of the rooftop.

"Hold on, gents. This is all just a big misunderstanding." Abrakhal peered over the edge and caught a glimpse of the ragged girl floating down to a spreading crowd, saw the connecting power line, and looked back up at his assailants. He peeled off one sleeve of his coat at a time, holding out a hand to calm them and stall. "I can explain. Just give me a moment. There's this-"

"Get him!" They charged.

Abrakhal spun around, twirling his coat around his hands, and leapt from the roof. He caught the power line and his weight snapped the cord from its anchor with a spark. Down he swung with a voice-cracking wail, tucking his knees high in fear of the shooting sparks that lashed out behind the slack of the cord until the line caught and he let go; Abrakhal was flung toward a building where his thoughtless fear inspired a Force imbued feat that landed him like an insect, scraping a spring off the side and vaulting toward an open dumpster full of trash. He disappeared into the large container with a squishy crunch that shook the dumpster against the opposing building with a clang. And from within came an even higher pitched sigh of relief.

His hand slapped the rim, flinging out a bruised fruit skin and a wrapper that flitted wistfully to the ground, and hoisted himself out. Tumbling out onto the hard pavement, Abrakhal found his coat just to the side of the dumpster. While he was now soiled in garbage, his coat had luckily fallen not into the refuse with him but into a puddle of some unknown liquid. He scraped it up and slung it over shoulder with a spray of the smelly stuff that parted what onlookers he himself had garnered. And then he made for the ragged girl and the scene she was making.

"Don't hurt him, ugh," he tried calling out to her, only to keel over with his hands to his knees as the pain of his landing caught up with him. A soaked bun slipped off his shirt to the ground leaving a streak of gray goo. He was utterly out of breath, "I need him."

@Raven_41

 

[Eithni Vala Stark]

The green luminous mist had disappeared from Eithni's eyes as she grabbed the contact by his collar and pressing her vibroblade at his throat. "Don't kill me! Just take whatever you want!" whimpered the man, which was much bigger than Eithni. "I ask again, where's the smuggler?" Asked the young Nightsister again, ignoring Abrakhal's call to her. The contact screamed in pain when Eithni pierced his thigh with her vibroblade since the contact wouldn't talk. If this had been any other planet, police or other kinds of policing force would have shown about now. Unfortunately, this was the lowest of the lowest places on Nar Shaddaa and these kinds of situations, seemed more normal to happen, than police rushing the crime.

She pushed the blade deeper into the man's thigh, making him scream again, begging Eithni to stop. "Agh! Pleasepleaseplease, stop, stop I'll talk!" Screamed the man, just to get the pain to talk. "Talk!" Commanded the young girl forcefully, pulling the knife out of the man's leg. It was quite a view, the girl was way too young to act like she was a mobster, torturing an underling who betrayed their boss. Abrakhal was unfortunate too far away to hear what the whimpering man said to the young girl. Before he got to the girl or the contact, Eithni slit the man's throat and left the man to gurgle in his own blood as if it was nothing. People still kept their distance, even as the man got his throat sliced, as they wanted nothing to do with the situation at hand.

Not far from where Abrakhal stood, in the busy crowd, could he hear the men from the bar pushing their way towards the area and Abrakhal. "He's around here! Whoever captures and bring that farker to me, gets free drinks for a week!" Told the barkeeper to the goons and if Abrakhal looked in the direction, he would see them move very quickly at him. Although they haven't found him or notice him yet, it would only be within minutes, before they arrived at the dying man and see Abrakhal. Eithni, on the other hand, was already running away from the area and headed in the direction of where all legal ship and cargo would be at.

@Styx

 

[Abrakhal Grisgoh]

Trying to limp towards her, Abrakhal winced through the pain as he recovered with each step. Squinting at the scene through mostly parted bystanders, he strained to hear what the man said. He just started to realize that he disliked this girl, from her eerie appearance to her way with a knife, when she suddenly stabbed the man's thigh.

Onlookers sidestepped in front of Abrakhal to see what had happened from their seemingly safe distance, and he had to start shoving past their shoulders to get closer. He could hear mumbling but couldn't make out their words with everyone else muttering comments all around him. Ahead, the girl was threatening his only lead. Behind, he could make out the familiar voices of his assailants. The only way was forward.

Finally making it to the center of the crowd, he found what she'd left for him. He lost his breath. Abrakhal frowned his displeasure at the bloody sight, shock being overridden by the urgency of the situation. He felt the pull of his hand wanting to reach down and touch the man, to help him, pity and regret feeding self doubt and blaming himself for making the decisions he had made up till now. But instead he checked back over his shoulder, catching the shining bald heads of the bikers shifting through the crowd closer and closer, and decided he had to leave the dead lie and follow the only parted pathway after the fleeing girl.

Abrakhal started after her, barely able to keep a clear sight of the girl in rags. At first he hobbled along, but had managed to build into a lumbering gallop by the time he reached a corner she'd turned. Then he realized he'd lost her. He stopped, concern building in his weathered face, when he heard a man shout out after him. The goons just wouldn't give up. They'd spotted him even though he hadn't stopped for long. He looked back ahead and just now realized the direction they'd been heading in, noticing the signs to port and docking as well as the more frequent ships coming and going overhead. Then he caught a few different couples looking confused and pointing in the same direction, and he knew that's where she'd gone.

"Excuse me! Have you seen a girl? About so high," he held a hand to describe her height. "Shredded garments? Murderous," he mimed the hacking of a knife. He needn't say more. "Yes! Thank you!" He skipped passed them as they answered his queries, pointing him in the right direction just as he had thought.

He ran into the busy area, looking back and forth, until he spotted her. Yes! He cut the line and vaulted over the turnstile, despite sparse protests, and surprised the girl from behind by grabbing her shoulders and shaking her around to face him. "Why did you kill him!" But then he realized, still holding the surprised vagabond woman who'd been meandering through the terminal all day. "You're not her."

No, she was not the girl. But someone had noticed his little stunt to brashly gain entrance to the area. Someone was pointing Abrakhal out to a pair of security guards, eyeing him from the sidewall now. And then the goons from the bar sounded their arrival as well, making an even bigger scene as they forced themselves through the entrance. Whether he would've seen her regardless of what happened next or not, everyone turned to see the ruckus except the girl. There she was, unmistakable. Abrakhal pledged to reach her before she disappeared again, and he took off after her again, heaving and looking a mess.

@Raven_41

 

[Eithni Vala Stark]

The women looked at Abrakhal with a mix of surprise and fear from being forcefully grabbed by him. The woman quickly ran from Abrakhal. If it was luck or just acts of coincidences, was impossible to know, but the moment that the security guards made their way to Abrakhal, caught the goons a lot of attention. The security guards turned their focus to the very loud and aggressive goons, leaving Abrakhal alone for now. "What do you mean we can't enter?!" Exclaimed the bartender angry to the first security guard, waving his arms around. The other security guard began to call back, just as one of the goon jabbed the first security guard.

Right passed Abrakhal, ran three more security guards with drawn batons, storming the goons and stop the fighting. The bartender found the Jedi in the crowd as he has been slammed to the guard, "I've seen your face boy! If I ever get my fingers on you, you'll be sorry you've ever set foot in this neighbourhood. Even as the bartender and goons got pulled away, the bartender cursed and threaten to beat Abrakhal up, if he ever saw him again.

Two other guards told everyone to disperse from the scene and go back to what everyone was doing. In all the chaos, Abrakhal had avoided not only the pursuing goons who wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp, but he had also avoided being taken into questioning by the security guards.

Eithni had watched the situation unfold itself for a bit, but turned around and headed for Bay H429. Bay H429 was one of the few private hanger bays in the cargo airport. Usually, the private bays had 3 or 4 hangers for people who don't want to be asked questions. Eithni stopped not far from the entrance to the private bay, hiding behind a couple of big crates still not transported away from the open areas. She sat down and pulled a small round pouch made of leather, opened it and placed it in front of herself. Eithni was surrounded by crates and not visible to anyone who looked her way, so no one would think that something weird would happen at the crates. Of course, those that had seen her walk within the surrounding crates would know.

Eithni's eyes turned to the very same glow with a thick green mist as she started to perform a ritual in order to become invisible, so she would be able to get past the guarded but private Bay.

@Styx