Back to the Streets

[Dameon Shikyo]

It was another one of those days he could tell already as he woke up in the droid storage he had renovated into a home. He woke up slowly and slid his hands through his hair wondering why he had even woken up. He stood up slowly and walked over to the large bowl of cool water he had in the corner and dunk his head in to help wake himself up. It had been rough lately especially since he now lacked the solid defense of a good blaster. He made his way lazily over to the electrical console next to the door and touched two wires together and the door opened. He quickly walked through the open door and it shut behind him violently. He looked at the alley with a yawn knowing he couldn’t keep living like this. Here he was in the worst part of Courescant trying to make a living. He moved his hood up over the top of his head and walked out into the open and looked skyward at the massive skyscrapers. It was amazing to him that for was long as he could remember he had been living on the streets when there was a whole mess of people who had never even been on the streets.

Another day another hassle, he had to wait around his normal area and hope people would need their droids reprogrammed or a computer cleared, you name it. Dameon continued to walk down the street keeping a wandering eye out in every direction, knowing if he let down his guard he could become someone’s prey. He had finally arrived at his normal block a few minutes later. Again he walked to a metal door and punched in a few numbers and the door slid open. He proceeded with setting up a very rough looking stand outside of it and sat down in a small chair. His escape route already planned via the garage door behind him he had already been set up months ago.

All that was left to do now was wait and hope his life would change for the better.

 

[Natise]

Kuras had been exploring the galaxy ever since he had gotten off of his home planet. He had just finished visiting Tatooine when he realized that he never stopped to see the less fortunate side of Courasaunt during his time visiting there. So he hopped onto his shuttle and flew straight over. He landed, paying the dock's owner, and set out to explore immediately. It was early in the morning, Kuras wanted to make sure he didn't get absorbed into the night life and clubs before actually seeing the minor details that always got lost in the dark. He walked through the back alleys, he then saw a man emerge out of a door, and briskly walk to his stand. Intrigue, Kuras followed him to the stand, and once he got to it asked

* What do you sell kind sir? *

 

[Dameon Shikyo]

Dameon looked up at the person in front of him hearing his brief line of questioning before he began to think of his rebuttal. He analyzed the man knowing he was an obvious source of possible hostility. The way he dressed showed it all that or at the very least the man was prepared to fight a small army if he had too. Dameon leaned forward in his chair making all the legs touch the hard ground.

“I don’t sell products. I sell a service, I can repair, hack, reprogram, alter, splice, and even reroute anything electrical from door panels to droids to star fighters.” He said after having a lot of practice reciting that exact phrase. He looked at the man’s visor wondering what exactly the man could want. He was either utterly curious or up to something. After all a man dressed like how he was probably didn’t need to be down at the street level. He was sure there had to be someone above the streets that offered the same technical expertise that he had, than again he had never been above street level.

“Need a blaster repaired or something?”

 

[jp5125]

"Not Exactly" Balkk said as he pulled out 2 blasters and pointed one at the cashier and one at the man behind the counter. "I have a special request, if you cooperate no one will get hurt." "And if either of you even think of running you'll have a hole in your back within seconds." "Trandoshans are notoriously good shots you know."

 

[Horizon]

"You're fairly liberal with those blasters aren't you?"

Saren wasn't too keen on the idea of someone pulling such a dirty move, especially on a Mandalorian and a man who is simply trying to make a living.

"If I didn't know any better, you're the perfect example of how slimy Trandoshans can be. You're nothing more than a thug looking for a cheap kill."

Pressing one of his dual blasters into Balkk's back, Saren intended to make it clear that he meant business with him. Saren was a Mandalorian much like the man Balkk had his own weapon aimed towards, meaning that it pained him to be using such a disgusting tactic. The Trandoshan had little room to do anything in terms of escaping and was in a bad spot, if he knew what was good for him, Balkk would agree to whatever Saren might offer to extend his own time living.

 

[Dameon Shikyo]

“It would seem I am the only one here without a blaster. So if you don’t mind I will be taking my exit. I won’t take an opportune moment for granted.” He said stepping down on a remote that was lying on the ground the remote activated shutting the razor sharp doors to the garage that he used to sell his service out of. The doors would shut so fast it would be nearly impossible to prevent them from closing. After the doors closed Dameon proceeded with his escape route in the wall that would lead him through the local bar from there he would disappear into the rest of the city.

[exit]

 

[jp5125]

Balkk smiled and holstered his guns.

"As i said before no one gets hurt if you cooperate, but you let the man who i needed assistance from escape."

A red dot appears on Saren's left cheek.

" Assassin Droids can be a pain, cant they?" Balkk said smiling.

Across the street atop a high-rise building an HK droid aimed its sniper at the man with the gun to Balkk's back.

"Now all i ask is for you to put the gun down and i'll walk away".

 

[Horizon]

"I'd hate to see those lovely teeth turned into a fine crisp."

His tone was cold with insincerity, Saren then pressed the blaster into his back with a loud thud before putting it away. He then walked to the right side of Balkk, placing a hand on his shoulder while attempting to whisper into his ear without the Mandalorian listening in.

"You pulled a real cheap tactic here today. It's almost disgusting to your own kind for that matter."


Saren just didn't like the Trandoshan species overall, he admired the few who could make a name for themselves but the majority only proved that they were just a bunch of spineless bastards.

 

[Natise]

In a matter of seconds, things had completely changed. It went from Kuras trying to have a nice conversation with a repair man, to a trandoshan assaulting the two, to a fellow mandalorian, or thats what it looked like at least, helping him, to an assassin droid appearing with a sniper rifle, to the conflict being reduced to simple prejudice remarks. Kuras turned to the trandoshan.

* So, what the hell is your problem lizard man? *

 

[jp5125]

"The shopkeeper that works here is a world class droid technician." "I need his help decoded an encrypted file thats on an astromech droid back on my ship." "The droid's got info on a target i'm searching for."

Balkk turned around and stretched, looking up at the sky. He then gave his HK droid the all clear signal and waited until its Acknowledged light came on.

"I don't want to bore you with my life story, but not only is the target got quite a price on his head, but i have a personal grudge against him, and i didn't feel like bartering for hours with a droid technician, so i figured id hold up the store, get him to decode the files, pay him, and be on my way."

"That is, until my friend here, decided to play hero an let the shopkeeper get away." Balkk said, pointing to Saren.

 

[Horizon]

"Hero? You've got a funny way of looking at things. Perhaps you should get out a little more before making those kinds of judgement upon people."

Saren was mighty pissed by now, feeling a little insulted for being refereed to in such a manner. Not that he was looking to be called a villain, but it just sounded demeaning the way Balkk had put it. Kuras wasn't too pleased either it seemed, after all it was pretty rude to have a gun pushed into your back without as much of a howdy do.

"Since we are on the topic of getting out of here, I think it's a great time for you to go play thug else where."

Overstaying his welcome and mostly being a mere nuisance, Balkk was now officially an annoying ass with a gun. Saren had dealt with many of his kind before, but these circumstances were a little different. Not many of his former victims had shiny droids sitting across the street.

 

[ihuntalone]

Teark had been hanging out in this back alley eavesdropping on the conversation. As a trainee Jedi he was always on the lookout for some new mission that he could show to his master. His lightsaber was hidden in its usual spot in his robe for easy access. He just used the force to be able to catch the entire conversation. He was ready for any action at all.

 

[jp5125]

Balkk smiled a wide toothy grin, ear to ear in fact. He knew he was getting on Saren's nerves.

"I guess I should scram, before in of you to decides to fry me with those shiny blasters you got there." Balkk said, pointing to the mandalorians guns in their holsters."

Nodding, Balkk began to walk in the direction the shopkeeper went. After walking about 10 feet, Balkk smelled something. Being part lizard had its advantages, including a great sense of smell. He knew there was someone else here. He should have picked the scent up before, but he didn't smell it until now.

Balkk casually turned around and told Saren and Kuras, "There's someone else here, act natural."

Balkk casually turned his comm link on and radioed his HK droid. "HK, do you pick up any signs of life besides the three of us?"... Several seconds of silence... "Positive, there is one other organism in the area."

"Can you pinpoint his location?" .... another silence.... "Negative, but he is close." Balkk nodded and flipped his comm unit off.

Balkk scanned the surrounding buildings and alleyways. He walked into the street and yelled, "I know your here. Come out and explain yourself."

 

[Natise]

Kuras was watching as the lizard finally decided to walk away. He was shown no such luck though as it stopped and began smelling the air. Kuras had not detected any sign of life, but he was more of a group species than anything. Kuras pulled out one of his "shiny" blasters and pointed it straight at the lizard.

* Conflict is something that I have not been able to explore in much detail, looks like I have a chance to now though. *

Kuras let off two shots towards the trandoshan, hoping that what might be a fellow mandalorian would take care of the droid.

 

[Horizon]

Slamming his hands down and arching his back, Saren knew exactly where to strike. His visor had already painted a silhouette around the droid moments earlier, allowing Saren's jetpack to fire off its missile without a hitch!

The missile zipped off with a loud swoosh, barreling upwards toward the window that Balkk's droid had last been standing. Saren wasn't about to let his missile do all the work however, lifting off the ground in a loud eruption of fire spewing down from his back, Saren blasted up and away towards the high-rise building.

Saren always came prepared and it wasn't any surprise that the other Mandalorian was going to perform such an action. It was only disrespectful to catch someone off guard and rub it in their face, at least to Saren, that's how he pictured it. He didn't stay long enough to see the remains of Balkk, but he hoped there was a fine mess painted on the floor, maybe then he would serve some kind of actual purpose. Balkk's droid however, was going to be a piece of sparking scrap metal by the time Saren was done with him.

 

[jp5125]

Balkk heard the blaster fire the second Kuras fired. He knew it was coming, but had little time to dodge. The first bolt hit him in the left side, it burnt a little, but it was just a flesh wound. Rolling, Balkk managed to dodge the second one. Out of the corner of his eye Balkk saw Saren fire a rocket at the HK and fly towards the droid. With lightning fast reflexes Balkk shot a stainless steel whipcord out of his right gauntlet, catching Saren by the foot. Then with one strong tug, he sent Saren tumbling in a different direction.

After cutting the line attached to sarens foot, Balkk rolled foreward while drawing his blasters, shooting 2 bolts at Kuras.

HK-01 knew he couldn't dodge the missile completely, but if he jumped at the right time, he would land on the balcony a few floors below on the building next to him. When the missile was uncomfortably close, the HK jumped. His mechanical legs didn't allow far jumping, but the blast pushed him far enough to allow him to reach the balcony.

 

[ihuntalone]

((Sorry about waiting guys lol. Had college to attend to.))

Teark's heart pounded in his chest. He did not move at all when he was asked to reveal himself. He just stopped & used some trash cans to hide himself. Then when he heard the missile shots he realized something. These were Mandalorians he was facing! He was in serious trouble if he wasn't careful.

Although the Jedi Order might be quite pleased if he were to capture a few Mandolorians. As he watched the fight progress he hid in the shadows waiting for the right moment to strike and capture these criminals.

 

[Horizon]

(I'm going to completely ignore the part about your HK droid setting off an emp blast to knock off my missile. The reason being that you've absolutely written nothing on what your HK droid can do.)

As the cord was cut loose, Saren was forced to smack right against the wall of a nearby building! Luckily he hadn't made it too far off the ground yet and managed to smack against few boxes upon landing. Saren was infuriated beyond belief, finding himself being beaten by some petty thug who though himself to be the next Bossk.

Fed up with Balkk's flashy moves, Saren dislodged his verpine shatter rifle from its holster, bring it to both of his hands only to aim down its sights to put an end to the situation. They both stood now at least twenty five feet away, allowing Saren a perfect kill zone. Pulling the trigger, Saren's shatter gun sounded off with a ear ringing bang, unloading its slugs into the air with stunning speed.

Balkk's armor wouldn't stand a chance! Saren knew very well how to deal with a fellow Mandalorian. Beskar was a devious material which could defend itself against many forms of damage that would attempt to harm it from the outside. Saren's verpine used Balkk's armor against itself however, proving that Beskar was far from perfect. Using the magnetic field principal and kinetic energy, Balkk would be thrashed about on the inside, leaving him broken bones and possible internal bleeding considering their distance. Balkk would be a nuisance no more and Saren would be leaving with a new handbag.

 

[jp5125]

Balkk knew exactly what the gun Saren was drawing it was before he had a chance to aim it at Balkk. It was a verpine shatter rifle, or as Balkk called it the "Most painful gun you ever can ever get shot by". He knew this from experience, he lost an arm to one. Luckily trandoshans can regenerate missing limbs, but it was a very painful process, one Balkk wasn't planning on going through today.

Balkk turned left and sprinted towards a dumpster. He heard the shots go of, and immeadieatly dove, skidding on his stomach until his body was completely behind the dumpster. Balkk checked his body to make sure he didn't get hit. Once he saw he was clean, he primed 2 thermal detonators, knowing if he stuck his head up to throw them it would get blown off, he decided to roll them out the side of the dumpster.

Balkk thought about the 2 mandalorians he was fighting. They were good, if not great fighters. They might even be worthy enough to kill him one day. Balkk thought, and honestly he wasn't afraid of dying. He never was, but he wasn't going to die today, not while there was a debt that still needed to be repaid.

The HK managed to avoid major damage from the blast, but his sensory array was a bit scrambled now, making it difficult to aim. He knew though, if he didn't do something soon, he would end up watching another master die. Without aiming, the droid sent a flurry of bolts down to where the enemies stood, hoping he would hit one of them.

 

[Horizon]

Balkk once again proved how much of a slimy prick he really was. Saren felt a little remorse for not clipping him in the first place, but had a better plan. Saren was about to put into play when suddenly he heard a set of familiar beepings. Igniting his jetpack and heading upwards along the wall he had just smacked into minutes before, the explosion caused Saren's trajectory to veer off a bit, causing him to sway back and forth on his way up while trying to maintain control.

Lastly Balkk's droid was stunned momentarily, firing off his own weapon in a vain attempt to save his master. Saren might've been clipped by the blaster fire if the HK droid wasn't mildly dazed, allowing him to land safely on the roof tops above Balkk and Kuras while the blaster file specked around the area.

"I've had just about enough of you!"

Said Saren as he roared out in infuriation. Picking out a small vial from his belt, Saren twisted the top, unlocking it before tossing down into alley way. The vial landed not too far from Kuras which was what Saren had anticipated. The vial's non-lethal gases would soon erupt from the vial, spewing out an eerie green gas that if inhaled would debilitate the unlucky recipient.

Stronger than morphine by 400-6000 times, Balkk would have the time of his life. There was a chance that the gas could provoke vomiting and a chance of death stemming from an overdose. Kuras' suit would certainly be unaffected, filtering out the gas and replacing it with oxygen within the suit.

Saren would have to wait and see as he waited patiently behind a couple of a AC units, keeping an eye on Balkk's droid in case it developed any other bright ideas.