Days Like Today

[Nike]

Six Standard Years Ago,
Yefowr, Taskeed​

It had been thousands of years since Taskeed had been a part of Hutt space, and the planet was still shaking off the stink of it. On the arid streets of the spaceport, Yefowr, spice exchanged hands, credits were laundered, and those with bounties on their head did their best to lay low. Its saving grace was the nearby trade route, and in recent years, its position to a pocket of Imperial space. The smugglers and traders who passed through kept the economy afloat, and the newly built Alliance outpost stifled some of the crime and violence. Sometimes, Zara wondered if her home world actually had potential to become something other than a dry, bloody rock. Then, the wind would throw sand into her eyes, and days like today happened.

The midmorning sun beat down on Yefowr, the heat pricking at Zara’s skin. A mix of traders, soldiers and locals milled through the dusty street, only a handful noticing the skinny thirteen-year-old sitting outside the general store. Freckles spattered across her sun burnt nose and dark eyes peered through bluntly cut bangs, taking in the faces passing her. Her clothes were ragged, and she had dirt pushed under her fingernails. Beside her, a Rodian girl looked around with somber eyes, her hands fidgeting in her lap. As far as friends went, Tilly, whose parents owned the shop, was the best one Zara ever had. While she wasn’t much of a fighter, the Rodian always had her friend’s back. Sometimes that meant playing diplomat, negotiating their way out of impossible situation, and sometimes, like now, it meant being a lookout.

“Are you sure he knows it was you?” Tilly asked in an attempted whisper, but her words carried beyond the two of them.

Despite her apparently emotionless face, Zara was finding it hard to breathe right. When she spoke, her voice was harsh and strained. “He knows.”

Tilly lapsed into a thoughtful silence that didn’t last long. “What do you think he’ll do?”

Nothing nice, thought Zara, but flashed her younger friend a small smile anyways. “I dunno. The usual? He’ll probably just push me around a bit.”

“What are you going to do?”

Zara shrugged. “Let him think he’s run me off, I guess. It’s worked before.”

Quiet fell again, and again, was broken by Tilly. “Kaul’s a skrag,” she said with a sigh, slumping against the wall.

Zara looked at her friend from the corner of her eye and snorted. “Yeah. He is.”

More than that, Kaul was dangerous, at least to people like them. The older boy thought he ruled “his” section of the spaceport, and to a small degree, he did. Anyone smaller than him or his gang was terrified of him, but the real big shots hardly noticed his existence. He reminded Zara of a rancor runt, complete with the slobber, who didn’t understand how small he really was. It was only a matter of time until he messed with the wrong person and ended up bleeding out somewhere in the dunes. Until then, however, it was best to stay out of his way or risk being mauled. Unfortunately for Zara, that wasn’t always possible.

It had been over an hour since they had begun to wait for Kaul to find them, and Zara was starting to wonder if he really didn’t know it had been her. Maybe, she thought hopefully, he didn’t care. Then barely whispering, Tilly spoke. “He’s over there.”

Sure enough, Kaul, back by two of his “guys” (A blue Twi’lek missing a tooth, and human wearing an eye patch he didn’t need) stood across the street. Getting to her feet, Zara cast one last look at Tilly. “Go inside, Tils. I’ve got this.” The Rodian nodded and scurried through the door without another word.

Kaul wasted no time. As soon as their eyes met, he beckoned her towards him with a sharp pull of his finger before disappearing around a corner into an ally. Taking a deep breath, Zara began to push her way through the crowd. A breeze whipped by, shifting her vest open. For a moment, an old blaster on her hip winked in the light before she yanked her vest closed again, throwing a glance around. It didn’t seem as if anyone had seen, or at least anybody that mattered.

With a tense smile, he waited for her leaned up against the wall. “’Ey, Zhett.” The friendly greeting caught her off guard and gave her a sick feeling deep in her stomach. Behind her, the Twi’lek had moved to stand at the entrance of the alley.

Licking her chapped lips, Zara did her best to sound bored. “What do you want, Kaul?” Peeling himself off the wall, he closed the meter or so that separated them until he was close enough for her to smell his breath. Zara had to tilt her head up to meet his muddy eyes. For some reason, Kaul literally didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. His lips always seemed to be slightly parted, revealing glimpses of his yellowing teeth.

“Did you hear about Torc?” he asked with the same light, casual tone as before.

“Yeah. Somebody collected his bounty.”

“Word is you’re the one who sold him out.” On the word you, he gave her a small shove. She dropped her gaze and allowed herself to be forced back. Denying it was pointless.

“And? Torc was an idi—” Still looking at the ground, she didn’t see the punch coming. A gasp was forced from her and she doubled over, clutching at her stomach.

“He was also my friend.” Another blow came towards her head, slamming against her face and causing blood to well in her mouth. She probably could have avoided it, if she wanted, but there wasn’t a point. Let him think he wins, she thought. It didn’t hurt that bad, anyways.

 

[Rane Maldalay]

PONK PONK PONK From the opposite side of the alleyway, the sounds of a hollow metalic pipe of an unknown length or material sounded off. The interval of the ponking was interupted and distorted by the echo of the walls around the quartet of children. PONK PONK PONK The sound came again, this time accompanied by the shuffling sounds of footsteps that punctuated the metalic sound. Ponk step step PONK step step To the minds of the boys, who had probably seen more than their fare share of 'weak' individuals knew it was probably someone with a physical weakness. A missing limb or deformaty perhaps.

Through the fog cloud at the end of the alleyway, a back lit figure came walking, features indistinct due to a hood that covered the head, and somewhat loose clothing. In the figures hand was held a long object, easily the same height as the figure, though it was obvious the figure was using it to walk with. A stray gust of wind blew down the alley and carried the fog away to reveal the backlit figure, though in the revealing not much more was discernable. To a zeno-biologist or someone familiar with some of the more exotic races, the two bumps on the top of the hood would have been imediately tale telling. As the figure stepped into the light from a bare bulb that overhung a doorway some feet away from the quartet, some more features were revealed though the dull ringing of the now obvious pipe in their hand.

Two white fleshy tails hung from the opening of the hood, tied together with a green ribbon, and striped with blue pigmentation. From the lighting, a small piece of the figures face was seen, orange in coloration with two small silver spots marking the chin of the humanoid. The clothing the figure wore was somewhat threadbare, full of brown cloth and black belts, with a flash of white underclothing here and there, some of the typical spacer clothing they would see around. The hood was something different than the typical spacer gear, though no less threadbare or showing signs of newness. From within the shadows of the hood as the figure tilted their head, they should have been able to see the glint of the shiney metal that Togruta often wear as ornamentation and personalization of themselves.

"Tell me something boy... if you are accountable for your own actions, and the consequences of such, then it was his fault for having the bounty placed upon his head, if he broke a rule, yes?"

Upon the speaking of the hooded interloper, several things were obvious. One was that the figure was female, and two most definatly an offworlder. The first was fairly obvious if they got a good look at her to begin with in good lighting, but from one bulb it was near impossible. Too many contrasting objects about her that made a positive identification possible. The second was her accent mainly, and couple it with her well spoken words and her species, it was painfully obvious. Still, as the 18 year old Togruta leaned upon her metalic pipe she used as a staff, she smiled in the light.

"But, as much as I am a fan of getting what one deserves, whatever that is, I dislike bullies. Young boys who require... backup to take on a singular opponant of similar size do not deserve much. Three on one, with the three being bigger than the one... that is just overkill. But, seeing as I am twice as big as any one of you, things are even."

Her smile turned into a predatory grin as she tapped her pipe/staff against the ground of the alleyway, sending out another muffled PONK as it struck the ground.

"Besides... I really do take exception to you beating a little girl..."

 

[Nike]

At the first sign of an interruption, a wide-eyed Kaul took several hasty steps away from Zara. Thick as he was, he had enough brain cells to warn him that beating down a girl half his size was generally frowned upon. Not that it would help her. Even if it a peacekeeper or sympathetic smuggler scared them off, they’d just come find her again and finish what they started. Zara still took the moment to catch her breath, peering down the alley for a glimpse of the intruder. The young woman that appeared was not what any of them expected, and as she spoke, the boy’s face faded from nervous to incredulous, before finally becoming a sneer. “Who in hell do you think you are?”

Silently, Zara wondered the same. She studied the stranger, taking in the ordinary clothing and large metal staff that in her hands. Orange hands, she noted, and a humanoid face. The girl recognized the species, though the name escaped her. More importantly, she didn’t appear wealthy and she definitely wasn’t local. She didn’t strike her as a criminal, either, nor a mercenary or bounty hunter. A trader, Zara decided, or working for one. The woman spoke in an easy, almost cocky tone as she lightly threatened Kaul and his friends, and Zara doubted she’d be able to back her words. People rarely carried staffs like that for show. Just leave, she pleaded silently. If this stranger got hurt because of her, she’d never forgive herself.

Having a new target to harass seemed to have pushed the younger girl from Kaul’s mind. He stalked towards her with the same too friendly smile he’d given Zara earlier. “Watch out,” his friend with the eye patch shouted, “Or she’ll hit you with her stick.”

Looking a moment at Zara, who had slunk back against the adjacent wall, he turned back to the stranger. “Why do care? What are you, her mother?” He laughed, and when his friends didn’t laugh with him, covered it with a cough. “Just leave, lady. If you know what’s good for you.”

 

[Rane Maldalay]

I don't know the local laws, but I would assume whomping on little brats like these with my pipe is a little frowned upon... Still... I can't leave her here to be beaten up. I hope she doesn't have any friends to take her beating for her...

"Mother? No... I'm too young to be her mother."

In the space of a few micro seconds, a plan was formed. Ano'Sken had a few toys in her pocket that might help, though how was beyond her at the moment. Her normal belt on excursions like this away from her master generally had one or two oddities most people would frown upon, but she was glad of them now. As she leaned upon her staff with one hand, angeling her body to make it seem as if she was going to walk away, her other hand slipped into her side pouch, retrieving a small smoke bomb. The tale of why she had one was a long and tedious one, but it involved a chicken, 4 tarlacks, (A goat like creature) and a young man from a Parthenon Temple. As Ano turned her back upon the young ones, knowing full well the danger she was in in doing just that, she nodded her head as if agreeing with the order to leave.

Except she didn't, and tossed the smoke bomb over her shoulder. It was designed to crack open upon a sharp impact, and the oxidation would cause the material inside to rapidly vaporize, causing the smoke to billow explosively for a few seconds. One... two... three... Inside Ano'Sken's mind, she counted as time seemed to slow to her, and when the smoke bomb cracked its shell upon the pavement, she gave it one more beat before rounding upon her prey. If there was one thing among many her master had told her, it was that people didn't generally expect someone who was a dancer to dance with a staff.

The whirring hum of air moving across the open ends of the pipe was a constant as she twirled the 5 foot length, stepping rapidly towards the three males. The smoke itself was blinding now, and had a little bit of a tearing effect to those who were in it, but it did not effect Ano one bit as she moved. The two 'muscle' kids the first one had brought were a threat and Ano needed to take them out first, except she knew they hadn't done much other than stand there. So it was her decision to make her blows to them lighter and tapped one on the calf and the the thigh of the same leg, twirl and a blow to the diaphram of the other, fully intending to incapacitate them both for a few moments.

The third, she focused all of her ire upon as she smacked him just below the ribs, then spun her makeshift bo-staff around to whack him just beside his neck. For the kid, it'd be a painful lesson, but she angeled it, or tried to, so the blow would not break any bones nor cause any damage other than a bruise and maybe some crushed muscle tissue. After her love taps were administered, she reached for the young girl's hand and took hold of it, her long slender fingers easily wrapping around the other's wrist.

"Come on, we should get out of here."

Through the dim lighting of the smoke filtered air, Ano knew her hood had fallen back somewhat to reveal her face. A smile played across her lips as she leaned down towards the girl as if assessing her physical condition, and while her scarred eyes were open, no glitter showed in their cloudy depths. Still, time was of the essence as she could hear some concerned onlookers approaching from the street. Most were not concerned with others safety, though some were, rather they were concerned with whether or not it was a fire and thus dangerous to themselves. She broke into a grin as she took the girl's wrist and ran, leaving her pipe behind to clatter on the ground. It was here that her hood did fall, and her Mantralls got an unobstructed 'view' of the surrounding area, allowing her to sound where everything was.

 

[Nike]

For a moment, it looked as if the woman was leaving. “Yeah.” Kaul almost sounded surprised that she’d given up so easily. “Yeah. That’s right. Leave.” Zara’s shoulders relaxed and she let out subtle sigh. Good. Let her go. She isn’t the one you want. Closing her eyes, she braced herself for when he turned his attention back on her. But that never happened.

The first sign Zara had that something wasn’t right was a gentle chink of metal cracking. Exclamation and sputter swears quickly followed. Against her better judgment, she opened her eyes. Smoke swirled around; it got into her nose, her mouth, her eyes. She could hardly see through the tears, but she heard hollow thumps and sudden cries and made a pretty good guess of what was happening. Kaul was getting what he deserves, and that terrified her.

As the smoke faded, she felt gentle fingers tighten around her wrist and pull. She allowed herself to be led away without a fight, rubbing at her bleary eyes as she went. It took awhile for her to breathe without coughing, and once she could, she dug her heels in and attempted to wretched her hand from the stranger’s grip. “What…” she paused to spit out the sickly taste of the artificial smoke, “…what do you think you’re doing?” As the realization sank in, her heart began to shudder, as if it were trying bury itself deeper into her chest. “Do you know what you’ve done? He’s going to be so…” Her eyes were cast down as she searched for the words. “He’s going to kill me,” she said softly.

Jaw tense, she looked back at the stranger. “And it’s your fault.” For the first time, she got a good look at the woman. She stared at her with burning eyes, studying every detail of her face and engraving them into her memories. Maybe she was wrong about her not being criminal. Characters like this always had someone looking for them, and those someones paid well. “Who are you, anyways?”