Ask Coruscant Unlikely Encounters

[Gwydion Astel]

Gwydion sat at the noodle bar and gleefully eat the food which he had ordered. The noodle bar was located in a small alley, on one of Coruscant's numerous sublevels. Nonetheless, it happened to be one of his dear departed mentors, Quel Varess, favorite place to eat. The old Nautolan couldn't get enough of the hot and spicy noodles, a craving he had passed on to his student. Despite being only partially covered by the rain that was pouring down, Gwydion's spirits were high, with the heat from the food staving off the cold from the raindrops bouncing off his back.

The enjoyment of the moment was interrupted however by the intrusion by a man who was approaching the owner of the noodle bar with a scowl on his face. The man was tall but out of shape with a clean shaven head, he had huge hands which looked they could grab a hold of Gwydion's whole head with just one fist. The man, Baldy, as Gwydion had internally named him, immediately violated the personal space of the owner and began to prod one of his large fingers into the chest of the small Rodian, whose only joy in life was to cook and sell hot and spicy noodles.

"Rent is due today! No excuses!" Baldy yelled, followed by the sound of smashing plates and clanking pots as a shove from Badly sent the Rodian flying back against a counter in his makeshift kitchen. Gwydion sighed, he had only come here to enjoy the noodles and reminisce on the memory of his deceased friend. But he was a Jedi first and a noodle-lover second. After swallowing one more mouthful, Gwydion left his seat and walked around to where Baldy was now stood menacingly over the Rodian, who was cowering on the floor of his kitchen, pleading for leniency on the 'rent'.

"Excuse me," Gwydion said while walking towards Baldy, "I'm sure we can solve whatever dispute you are having peacefully.". The response came swift and unexpectedly. Baldy pivoted on his foot with speed that one would not expect from a man of his build and cold-cocked Gwydion square in the face. There was a distinct cracking sound which could have only been Gwydion's nose breaking. After that, the world went dark for Gwydion as he collapsed backwards onto the ground.

The last thing he saw was Baldy stood over him with the same scowl he had shown the Rodian while yelling incomprehensibly. But that was no longer Gwydion's concern, he was unconscious and dreaming of noodles.

@KaraLi

 

[Sarine Lark]

And I'll survive, paranoid​

I have lost the will to change

And I am not proud, cold-blooded fake​

​

----------------------------------------​

​

"Hey," the girl said, giving a gentle slap to the unconscious man's cheek. "Hey, wake up. I'm not getting in trouble for this and I need a witness." The next slap was less gentle, though hardly enough to cause someone serious damage.

----------------------------------------​

Sarine had arrived at the noodle bar just before the violence started. Her initial plan when it started was to just wait, after all she just wanted some noodles. Even when the Rodian proprietor was thrown around, she didn't need to do anything. Someone else was intervening. No need for her to be a hero.

That lasted about five more seconds.

"Dank farrik," the Mandalorian grumbled as she jumped over the counter. Where the previous interloper had tried peace and announcing his attentions, she was less civilized. A beskar shinguard found the back of the goliath's head before he ever saw her, and before he could throw his first punch, she had planted two more solid punches into the man's face. He had power and endurance so she didn't floor him immediately, but she was speed and skill. The most he managed was some glancing blows before he fell to her onslaught and she was barely winded.

Glancing around once the man was unconscious, the first thing she spotted was the Rodian was gone. Fled during the distraction in case she had failed?

"This is why I don't help people..." she muttered to herself once more and moved over to the first victim. If the Rodian was gone, she needed someone to back up her story.

----------------------------------------
I will shut the world away​

@Baryon

 

[Gwydion Astel]

While unconcious Gwydion had a brief vision. He was standing at the edge of a vast lake which was covered in beautiful water lilies which were an odd shade of bluey-green. Staring into the water of the lake, Gwydion felt a profound sense of peace wash over him. The serenity of the moment was ruined when water from the lake began to jump up and splash Gwydion in the face. The first splash was light and didn't bother him too much.

The next splash was harsher and Gwydion closed his eyes to shield them from the water. Opening his eyes, Gwydion found himself back on the floor of the noodle shop and immediately noticed two things. The first was the woman stood over him, the second was the great pain from where Baldy had smacked him in the face.

"Is Rolof okay?" Gwydion asked the woman, still feeling somewhat dazed. Rolof Bleep was the now missing owner of the noodle shop. The two were on good terms and Gwydion disliked seeing anyone being preyed upon by opportunistic criminals.

Once he was back on his feet, Gwydion was able to fully register the situation. He noticed Baldy unconscious on the ground and walked over to him gingerly, periodically rubbing his nose with his hand. Gwydion knelt next to Baldy and put two fingers on the man's neck. Satisfied by the steady pulse and reasoning that he would more than likely be fine, albeit with a considerable physical recovery ahead of him, Gwydion nodded to himself.

"A witness you said?" Gwydion asked while turning to face Sarine, "I wouldn't worry about that. In my experience the local authorities don't usually concern themselves with what goes around these areas. They leave the policing to others." He flashed a glance back at the unconscious man.

"I need to find Rolof and make sure he is safe. If you would like to help, I would appreciate it. If not, I would advise you leave the area regardless. I imagine our friend here has people who will soon come looking for him." Gwydion paused and took a moment to take in Sarine's appearance and demeanor, "Or perhaps you would appreciate the challenge?"

@KaraLi

 

[Sarine Lark]

And I'll survive, paranoid​

I have lost the will to change

And I am not proud, cold-blooded fake​

​

----------------------------------------​

​

"Who is Rolof?" the young woman said with a bit of shock. The man had been knocked unconscious and woken up by a stranger, yet here he was wondering about someone else entirely?

He was a lunatic.

This was only further exemplified when the first thing he did after getting to his feet was going to check on his now unconscious attacker. "I didn't kill him," Sarine said defensively as she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. She tried not to kill, if she was honest. Jev had taught her restraint and she had learned that killing just brought questions. Living bruisers like the big idiot didn't tend to talk too much after they had gotten their heads knocked by a girl half their size.

Maybe a quarter of the size, in this instance.

At the notion of helping him find this Rolof, by now having figured out he probably meant the shop owner, she gave a shrug. He was right, she needed to get some distance from the scene and just maybe she could get a reward for helping. Even if that reward was just some dank noodles.

"Fine. I saw him run off down the street, so he's probably in an alley or something that way."

----------------------------------------
I will shut the world away​

@Baryon

 

[Gwydion Astel]

"Back there, when I checked on the man who assaulted me," Gwydion said to Sarine as he began to walk in the general direction of where she had indicated she had seen Rolof go, "I did not do so because I believe you a violent thug capable of murder. I did so because even a small fall can cause serious injury. I had to make sure he was okay." He looked at Sarine and smiled faintly, satisfied he had given a adequate explanation.

The street they were walking through was densely packed with people. Nearer to the noodle stand, the commotion had drawn people's attention and a small crowd had formed but as their distance from the shop increased, the residents interest in the ruckus similarly decreased.

"I'm Gwydion by the way," He stated, feeling almost rude that he hadn't introduced himself earlier. The fact that Sarine, a stranger to him, had agreed to help him find someone who was presumably a stranger to her, gave Gwydion reason to believe she was a trustworthy person and he had decided to work under this assumption for the time being. "What brings you to Coruscant?"

@KaraLi

 

[Sarine Lark]

And I'll survive, paranoid​

I have lost the will to change

And I am not proud, cold-blooded fake​

​

----------------------------------------​

​

"Sarine," the woman said with a shrug when asked for her name. She considered giving him a fake one for only a moment, but if she ran into trouble later for taking the big guy down, he might actually need the truth if she was going to rely on his help. Help she was admittedly still counting on. She had stuff to do so couldn't just flee the planet, so keeping him around made sense.

"Here on business. Got some parts I'm trying to sell." Offering Gwydion a small shrug as she followed after him, she left it at that. The parts weren't necessarily illegal, though scavenging was often frowned upon, especially this deep into the core. No one liked the idea of graverobbing, and what she did was only one step removed from that. "You, though... I bet you're a local. People don't stick up for noodle tossers unless they know em."

She did her best to ignore that she had done the exact same thing.

----------------------------------------
I will shut the world away​

@Baryon

 

[Gwydion Astel]

"Parts to sell? Well, hopefully we'll get this situation sorted quickly and you won't be held up too long." The pair had managed to walk a reasonable distance from the noodle bar at this point. Gwydion stopped and took a moment to look around, he had been looking for Rolof as they walked and hadn't spotted him, nor any sign of where he had potentially gone. "Local to noodle bar you could say, not to Coruscant. The bar was a favourite of an old friend of mine, he really loved the place."

It was at that moment that Gwydion's eyes were drawn to the direction from which they had came. In particular, he saw three people pushing their way through the crowd and heading in their general direction. One female and two men, each looked as equally mean as each other.

"Hm, I think we may have some company," Gwydion said, indicating with a nod of his head at the three people he had spotted. "I had assumed that the man who attacked Rolof's store was simply a local thug. Now I am realising it is entirely possible he was a member of a larger criminal organisation." With that in mind, Gwydion turned and looked in the opposite direction and raised his eyebrows in realisation as he saw three more people, this time two females and one male, moving towards their direction.

"Apologies Sarine, I believe I've dragged you into a sticky situation." Gwydion stated. A situation that had started as a small dispute at a noodle bar was now escalating into a manhunt for not only Rolof, but now Gwydion and Sarine. He was frustrated with himself for having allowed things to develop as they had.

"They haven't spotted us yet. We have a window of opportunity with two options, we either depart quickly and find somewhere to lay low or we stand our ground here."

@KaraLi

 

[Sarine Lark]

And I'll survive, paranoid​

I have lost the will to change

And I am not proud, cold-blooded fake​

​

----------------------------------------​

​

Sarine shrugged. Coruscant was hardly a hot tourist destination, and the local noodles bars weren't high on anyone's list. That this man came here because of an old friend? That was something she didn't particularly understand.

Didn't really care to, either.

She spotted the second group first as they came to a standstill, and glanced at the other when Gwydion nodded in their direction. He was already thinking of trying to run, but that option was terrible. Reaching up, she grabbed her scarf and slid it higher on her face to provide some cover to her identity.

"We fight," the Mandalorian stated plainly as she reached behind her and drew out two batons. "I'm not getting chased the entire time I'm on this planet. Please tell me you can put on a better show than you did at the noodle bar?" With a grip on her weapons, they lit up as an electrical charge coursing through them sent stray red bolts along the blunt blades.

"Oh, and no killing," she added just before she charged the second group. Rather than use the window to run and hide, she used it to strike before their enemies were prepared. They had numbers, but if she could put down one before they knew what was happening it would lower their advantage considerably and she gave her own skills good odds.

Hopefully Gwydion could hold off the other group long enough for her to swing back and help clean.

----------------------------------------
I will shut the world away​

 

[Gwydion Astel]

"I'll do my best that's all I can really promise." Gwydion said, followed by a smile. He couldn't help but smile again when she instructed him not to kill anyone. Maybe she was the Jedi. He turned away from Sarine and observed the trio that were heading toward him. He really didn't want to fight or hurt anyone today.

Taking a moment to close his eyes and attune himself to his surroundings, his heart rate slowed and Gwydion felt his breathing become slower than usual and he felt lighter on his feet. He could pick out the footsteps of the individuals that were coming towards him out of the crowd. When he felt they were close enough, Gwydion opened his eyes and raised his hand at the trio, waving them over with.

The three all looked at each other confused and stopped in their tracks short of Gwydion, but each individual had their fists clenched and were ready to fight.

"I cannot speak for my acquaintance," Gwydion said, referring to Sarine, "But as for myself, I would very much prefer to avoid any violence and I would appreciate it if we simply let bygones be bygones and went our separate ways. As the old saying goes, the person that seeks violence shall surely have it delivered upon them." He finished and held arms out wide with his palms open, smiling as he did.

Unfortunately, the three were not very receptive to Gwydion's peaceful message. They all charged forward at the same time, converging towards him with ill intent.

Gwydion sighed.

@KaraLi