Help Me!

[Riley Dee]

[OOC : feel free to jump in wherever you like]


Running for his life, Rex (The Unlucky One) Andarre 's heart pumped furiously against the inside of his rib cage. On either side of him the back-alley scene of Coruscant's underbelly flew by, dirty and poorly lit. This deep into the city-world, sending a maintenance droid to clean the streets just meant losing a maintenance droid. Officials must have given up on street renewal projects in areas like this decades ago. Even now, Rex had to maneuver around abandoned equipment and leap over the odd sleeping (possibly dead) vagrant here and there. Running, running, running, Rex pivoted, making a sudden ninety degree angle down into the darkest alley he could find. This had been going on for nearly 15 minutes--dodging, ducking, turning and hiding, attempting to throw off his pursuers by switching paths rather than out-distancing them.

Rex had to stop. He ducked down low, planting his back against the side of a disposal unit. Despite being called, "unlucky," Rex usually ended up ahead somehow. Drawing in deep, desperate breaths, and craning his neck to check either end of the alley, Rex knew this may very well be the night his fortune really did run out.

Rex just wanted a blaster. Without ego, Rex knew that he was the best he had ever seen with a projectile weapon. That's what started the whole thing off to begin with. He was inches--INCHES--away from purchasing his own ship. All he needed was 10 to 20 thousand more credits and a second name to back the title. But his repeating blaster bit the dust two nights ago in a cantina brawl. Who was going to hire a gunslinger with no gun? Rex, being ever-so-talented at finding the scummiest of underground retail was able to track a seller. Unfortunately, said dealer's cousin died two nights ago in a cantina brawl, killed by a tall man with rust colored hair, going my the name of Rex.

The sale didn't go well. Oops.

Now, weaponless, Rex was being hunted down by a degenerate gang of Rodians, lead by one pissed Zabrak.

 

[Riley Dee]

Having gained his breath, Rex peered back down the alley again. It was clear. He stood up and dusted himself off, pulling his shirt away from the sweat of his skin, and swearing loudly at the hole somehow torn into the back of his pants.

He reached down to his belt to feel the familiar cold heft of the lightsaber hilt. He wasn't a jedi, but that broken lightsaber hadn't left his side since it was given to him by his guardian--an heirloom from before his parent's deaths. It was heavy, ugly, constantly in the way, and more than once he'd been laughed at in the underworld for toting it around. Every goon and crime lord on Telos IV knew better than to attempt to steal it. He had left enough horribly charred bodies to make that point long ago.

But this wasn't Telos. It was coruscant. And he needed to get himself a blaster--and quick. The sooner he made the credits he needed, he'd have his own ship. Freedom.

Rex started to make his way out of the alley. With a party of revenge-starved gang members after him, he'd need a blaster now more than ever. A short MSE-6 Series repair droid whizzed down the alley and into the back of Rex's heel.

Rex swore, looked down, and frowned. "You wouldn't happen to have a blaster I can borrow, would ya?"

"Beeep-zip. Deet-oo weep whiizzziiiiit. Click."

"Right. Didn't think so."

And with that, Rex Andarred stepped out of the alley and into poorly lit streets of Coruscant's Undercity...
...Only to be met by an extremely pleased looking Zabrak and his cronies.

 

[Riley Dee]

Gulp.

 

[Jade the Protector]

Jade ran towards the direction the sounds came from. "Hey! " She skidded to a stop and leaned against alley wall. "What's goin on?"
Zabrak grinned.
"Just fixing a problem, killed someone I knew." He gestured to Rex. Jade laughed.
"Then go to the law, revenge does nadda." She used the force to see the scene around her. "I'll take care of him. Get lost." She waved a hand and tossed a bag of credits to Zabrak. The man grinned and nodded.
"Pleasure doin business, Jedi." The man and his "friends" walked to a bar to blow the money. Jade turned to Rex, she could hear his heartbeat and sense his fear.
"Not quite the one for friends, are ya?"

 

[Riley Dee]

Wide eyed, and still staring after the Zabrak's gang, Rex swallowed hard. "Yeah, well you know.... minor dispute. Nothing I couldn't have handled." That last sentence sounded a lot less confident than he would've hoped. He turned to the stranger and frowned. "You just bought my life from those guys." Then suspiciously he asked, "Why?"

 

[Jade the Protector]

Jade chuckled at his statement, he certainly was clueless.
"You just bought my life from those guys." Then suspiciously he asked, "Why?"
"They were doing justice the wrong way. Ya killed in self defense correct?" She knew that most likely the fight was a club fight, so it would have counted as self defense. "Relax, kiddo, I ain't gonna bite, much."
Night Eyes gave a hyena like laugh at the end of her master's statement.
"So, what are doing here on planet choke-out-your-life?"

 

[Riley Dee]

"Yeah... yeah, self defense." Heart still pounding in his chest, Rex took a second to evaluate the stranger. She was a Jedi, there was no doubt in his mind. Even that hare-brained zabrak could see that and had said as much. Aside from those that had failed their training and been sent to Telos IV, Rex had never seen full-fledged Jedi in person. She was... short. Well under five feet, and yet her confidence and presence was undeniable.
"I came here lookin' for work. Rex Andarre," he smiiled, an attempt at charm, and offered his hand out to the Jedi. "Gun for hire. First couple hours here and I ended up shooting people for free. And you are...?"

 

[Jade the Protector]

"Jade, Jedi Knight that the others are nervous about allowing to leave a Temple." She smirked. "Hard to do be worried and trap me now. Any whom... won't burden ya." She turned to walk out of the alley. "So... you willin to do other work that doesn't involve murder?" She had a feeling that the "incident" wasn't and accident, but she didn't dwell on it at all.
"Surely there is something better you can do, like get off the planet to one with honest work."

 

[Riley Dee]

It dawned on Rex that this Jade character was a bit of a trouble maker.
He liked trouble makers.
"Honest work? It's been awhile. With blaster skills like mine, honest work seems kinda like a waste." He reached instinctively to his vest to pat his blaster, only to remember it was gone. All that remained was the broken and useless lightsaber hilt he carried for luck. "But I'd be willing to do any type of job if the credits were there." In attempt to look smooth, Rex crossed his arms and leaned nonchalantly against the wall, but missed, nearly falling flat on his rear. Jade's vision didn't seem all there, so he hoped she wouldn't notice. "You know, if I were a wookie, I'd owe you a life debt for saving my hide."

 

[Jade the Protector]

"Then I would have a furball following me around and the other Jedi would be happy." Jade chuckled. "I'm not sure what planet is the best for work, but maybe someone wouldn't mind a stocker or janitor." She shrugged. She thought about mentioning the rebuilding of the Jedi Temple on Tython, but decided against it.... for now.

"Come on, let's get something to eat, you have to be hungry."

 

[Riley Dee]

Rex snorted. Janitor. Rex had never heard of an "honest job" that didn't mean busting tail for hours on end with little to show for it. He wanted adventure, not a 9 to 5. Being some trader's stock boy and scrubbing down dirty seats in some cantina was not his idea of an appropriate vocation. And buying his own ship was so close, he could almost taste it...

"Come on, let's get something to eat, you have to be hungry."

Rex was hungry. Out of habit, he fidgeted with the lightsaber hilt at his hip and thought. I shouldn't be dining out with some random jedi. Sure, she saved my life, but I've gotta find someone in need of a sell-gun, or all the credits I have now will dwindle away on hotel rooms and cheap food. Rex was finding the polite way to kindly say, "Thanks, but no thanks, Jedi," when his stomach let out a growl so loud and exaggerated, a drunken Bith across the street lifted his head and took notice.

Rex said, "Fine. Dinner. Then I've really got to find a blaster and someone who has some work--real work. Action and danger. I didn't come to this planet to clean toilet seats."

The unlikely pair walked along the streets of Coruscant, mostly in silence. There didn't seem to be much that needed saying, seeing as this was just courtesy--sharing a meal with the person that saved his life. But it also felt like there wasn't much she didn't know, like somehow she understood him without words needing to be spoken. Could Jedi really read minds? They turned a corner, made their way into greasy diner, and found a table. This late, only the roughest of characters filled the booths, and it was likely that more than a couple of them would've known the Zabrak he put down days before. It made him uneasy. Looking around the room he had no doubt he could shoot out 5 or 6 of them before they could find a weapon--if he had his blaster. But he didn't... Rex shook his head. You're just being paranoid. No one here wants a fight. Besides... you're with a Jedi.

Rex smiled and spread his hands. "SO! Dinner's on me, it's--er--the least I can do."

 

[Jade the Protector]

"Allow me, you need your money." Jade said as they went into the diner. She sat down across from Rex, whom still seemed jumpy. "You kill for a living. How easy are clients to find?" She tipped her head as her force sight showed her Rex's general shape.

 

[Riley Dee]

How could she have known I needed money? Rex's head hurt.
"Okay, first of all, Jedi--er--Jade. I don't just 'kill for money.' I do all types of jobs... it just usually ends up being the type of jobs that ends in blasterfire. And I'm the guy you want on your side when there's blaster fire." Rex sat back smugly and folded his arms. A Human waitress set down their drinks and started to walk away after giving a few small courtesies. She was attractive. So attractive that Rex ended up knocking over his drink gawping at her as she walked away. Rex looked at Jade quickly to see if there were any reactions on her face. Mopping up the table and his lap with a sleeve, Rex said, "As far as clients go, It's usually pretty easy. Usually. But I've never been to this planet. I've had a few... difficulties."

 

[Jade the Protector]

Jade handed him some napkins, chuckling at the feeling he pulsed from the seeing the waitress. "I see." was all she said.

 

[Riley Dee]

Still sopping up the mess, Rex asked, "And you? Jedi Knight, huh? Shouldn't you be... defending the galaxy from the jaws of doom and chaos or something?"

 

[Jade the Protector]

Jade laughed, "only when needed." She shook her head with a grin. "Besides, my fellow Jedi are edgy about sending me on missions."

 

[Riley Dee]

"Oh? And why's that?"
The waitress came back, this time with their meals. But instead of ogling her, Rex was now more interested in Jade. My fellow Jedi. Rex was sure he'd get through life without seeing more than one or two. It dawned on Red that Jade probably knew hundreds.

 

[Jade the Protector]

"I'm blind, fool." Jade said, not too surprised he didn't notice, but irritated none the less.

 

[Riley Dee]

I knew it! Rex waved a hand in front of Jade's face, testing her reaction. "Is that right? You seem to do okay for yourself though." Something suddenly occured to Rex. "Would the other Jedi feel better about you going out... if you had a bodyguard?" Toying with the broken lightsaber hilt in his lap, his face flushed. This is what it had come down to? Begging for work? "Nevermind. Stupid idea right?" Rex forced himself to laugh. I'm never going to get a ship at this rate.

 

[Jade the Protector]

"A bodyguard...?" Jade laughed. "My fellow Jedi might agree with it, ya can talk to them." Jade took a bite of her meal and chewed thoughtfully. "I'll be honest, They might pay ya top dollar for doing so..." She tipped her head and tossed Night Eyes a part of her meal; she could mentally hear her Master lecturing about eating and how she needed to eat more, but, at this point, food was making Jade feel sick.