It's a Dog-eat-Dog Galaxy

[Fine Frenzy]

Kalsar inspected the apple with care. "It came from Corellia," the merchant had told him. "This apple will cost you."

Kalsar set the apple down, the frown of the merchant being more pleasing than the apple could have ever been. Beginning to walk again, he maneuvered between countless people. Everyone trying to get their best look at every stall without disrupting the massive moving blob. Someone stepping off here or there to entertain the thought of buying something. What a life it must be to have to pander to the people.

Only one Mandalorian had to deal with that. Mand'alor, sole ruler of the Mandalorians.

Mand'alor.

The word had a sting to it now. Mand'alor te Vencuyan. It had not been long since Corden Vencu died. A power vacuum was present, a new Mand'alor would rise soon. Something told Kalsar that the new leader would not be anything like the last.

Veering off into an alley, Kalsar collected himself. You shouldn't be thinking like this, he told himself. Today was supposed to be a new day.

There were stalls even in the alley, but these stalls weren't frequented very much. Walking up to one, Kalsar could see why. Cheap soup was available, stall bread was the only side offered. He could probably even purchase a maiden for the night. The thought intrigued him.

BAM!

A petite woman barreled into Kalsar, the armor underneath his black cloak almost certainly doing some damage. She did her best to recollect herself, and she was running again in no time. Soon another person ran by Kalsar, and another and another. Two Humans, a male and a female, and a male Zabrak, all chased after the petite woman.

Something told Kalsar this wasn't right. They would catch her, and do things with her only Quay could imagine, but there's no doubt she would have gotten away if Kalsar hadn't been standing there. With reluctance, he began to chase after her too, his gut guiding him.

 

[Haunting Melody]

It figured really. The day had started out so well. Amaterasu had spent the night sleeping in a hotel, and actually woke up well rested. Then, after a nice breakfast, she left and went out into the street to look for something to do. As of late, she hadn't been able to find many people to help out. Thus far, however, she had helped an old woman cross through a busy intersection, a small girl find her mother, and a merchant reclaim a stolen item. It had been a rather successful day. That was, until, she stumbled across a few ruffians giving a man a problem about a debt of some sort.

"Just give us the money you owe, and we'll leave you alone. No muss, no fuss." A tall human man said in a gruff intimidating voice. The smaller and cowering man cringed with each word before responding. "But...but, I don't have any money! I swear! There was never a toll here before!" The large man growled and threw a fist into the man's gut. Behind him, a rather rough looking human female and a male Zabrak stood with crossed arms, snickering to themselves. Amaterasu hated these situations.

"Hey, leave that man alone. There are no tolls in this area. Its wrong to rob people of their hard earned money." The three turned around, allowing the now injured man to fall to the ground. "Mind your own business, wench. Unless you want to get knocked out." The man said with a cruel grin. Amaterasu smirked, a small breeze blowing past her, carrying strange of her white hair along with it and out of her face. "I think not. Step away, and I won't hurt you."

The three surrounded her, and all three produced vibro-blades. This was suddenly getting bad. "Look, just leave him alo-..." Amaterasu was interrupted by a sudden swing of the blades. The woman managed to leap back and avoid them, colliding with the smaller man, rolling back and hitting the ground. With a thud, Amaterasu grunted in quiet pain. The cloth of her cloak now had a slash through it, and worse, her eyes caught a metallic cylinder on the ground. "My..." The woman caught herself as the three people noticed the cylinder themselves. "A...a lightsaber?! You're... you're a jedi! Get her!" The zabrak responded angrily, as he stood up, then moved toward her, raising his sword to attack. Reflexively, Amaterasu grabbed her lightsaber, thrusting her hand toward the zabrak, a wave of pressure flooding into his chest like a tsunami, launching him into a nearby stand.

As the material crumpled from the thrown man, Amaterasu began to flee, putting her lightsaber back where it belonged on her belt, hidden by her cloak. The white-haired woman ran as fast as she could, but the three were in hot pursuit, throwing violent insults at her, many of which had to do with her being a jedi. While anyone who knew her at all would know that she hadn't been a jedi for years, it would be pointless to try and explain it. It was well known that the Sith populated and controlled this area, so the Jedi were very unpopular in this place. Many of the thugs and gangs in the area pledged a loyalty to the Sith, and as such, were rewarded for capturing and killing Jedi. The three alone were easily no real challenge, but if they enlisted the help of other people around her, she'd be in major trouble.

Then, to make it worse, Amaterasu met with something sturdy, probably a wall. "Ow...what the?..." Amaterasu glanced up at whatever she collided with, and saw it was a man adorned in armor. Mandalorian from the looks of it. He barely moved at all. "Sorry..." Amaterasu mumbled to the man, rising quickly and running right past him. Unfortunately for her, the three people followed right after.

 

[Fine Frenzy]

The thud of his boots radiates across the wide and open marketplace. Where is she, the words racing through Kalsar's head. Where is she, where is she, where is she. She can't be safe. She can't. Kalsar has to protect her, to save her. It's his fault she is going to get caught. He should not have been standing there. It's his fault.

Turning a corner, he finds her. Backed against a wall, she's doing her best to fight off the trio. Charging from behind, Kalsar rips the Human female attack away, throwing her away easily. The Human male goes to the Human female, ensuring that she is okay. Kalsar diverts his attention to the Zabrak, who is relentless with his attacks. His friends being hurt did not phase the Zabrak at all.

Ripping him off of the woman with silver hair, Kalsar pummels the Zabrak in the face, causing him to stumble backwards. Kalsar gives a glance at the woman he's trying to save as the the Zabrak repositions himself. Behind him the Humans jump to their feet, ready to pounce.

 

[Haunting Melody]

Ammy moved as quickly as she could, but eventually found herself at a dead end. The alley she ducked into that she hoped would lead into a series of alley ways did not. With a sigh, Amaterasu stopped at the several story tall building that now enclosed her in a dark alley with three angry thugs coming after her. The white-haired woman turned around, dusting herself off as the three people approached. "Looks like you've got nowhere else to go, Jedi scum." The Zabrak said with a furious glare, moving towards her slowly. The two humans remained back until the first blow was thrown. The Zabrak moved forward, throwing a flurry of punches that Ammy was able to divert or block without retaliating. Unfortunately for her, that was when the other two decided to intervene. The human male drew back and threw a punch from behind, catching her in the back before taking a kick from the female into her face, dropping her to the ground.

With a groan, Ammy slowly began to rise up before she began getting struck by the three simultaneously. Kicks and punches hit home repeatedly, blow after blow landing without error. Pained grunts escaped her lips through gritted teeth. Fortunately, that was when they were pulled off, at least, the humans were. Ammy didn't see who did it, her instincts took over and she began blocking the Zabraks kick until she caught his leg, tripping him to the ground. Amaterasu quickly stood up, shaking herself off. Small traces of blood were on her jaw and cheeks, a thin trail of blood running down the corner of her mouth. This passive thing wasn't really working. For her to survive, she would have to fight back.

The Zabrak growled and rushed her, throwing another right hook at her. Ammy diverted the blow, using the back of her arm, throwing her own straight into his face. The Zabrak took a step back, clutching his now broken nose. Following up her initial attack, she threw her right leg forward, connecting with the side of his knee, effectively breaking his kneecap, causing him to fall to the ground. The Zabrak cried out in pain, clutching his wounds as the humans charged at her. Sensing their approach through the force, Ammy turned around and raised her hands, catching them both in a powerful force grip. The two slowly levitated into the air, clutching their throats as the woman raised her hands, closing her fingers slowly as if she were wrapping them around their necks.

With a quick wrench of her hands, the two were rendered unconscious. Amaterasu then released her grip, allowing the two defeated foes to fall motionless to the ground. With a heavy sigh, Amaterasu turned to the man who saved her, the blood still very apparent on her face. The blood was the worst on her right side. She may have had a bruised rib or something. The woman's amber eyes stopped on the man who helped her. "Thank you, Sir. I appreciate your help." The woman spoke quietly, a slight smile forming on her lips.

 

[Fine Frenzy]

Kalsar grunted with disapproval. "You should have dealt with them like you did with the Zabrak."

Despite being impressed with her handling of the Zabrak, there was no honor in her mind tricks against the Human pair. Warriors fight their enemies with their sword and blaster, with their fist and their feet. Fighting from a distance with your mind wasn't acceptable, at least according to the culture Kalsar had been brought up on.

 

[Haunting Melody]

Amaterasu scoffed the man's words. "Why is that? It worked, didn't it?" The woman replied, casting him a strange look. Of course, the man was obviously a Mandalorian. The woman turned toward him, crossing her arms. "I appreciate your help, but, I really don't want to have to deal with your judgments of my methods." Amaterasu's long white hair blew gently in the breeze as she looked to him. He was a rather large man, likely very well built in his youth. It was likely that he could still hold his own. Besides, she wasn't looking for any more fighting today. Amaterasu only used the force for the sake of ease. There was no reason to allow herself the potential for more injuries by engaging them in hand to hand combat. Especially when she had no desire to cause more pain than necessary.

 

[Fine Frenzy]

Looking her up and down, Kalsar inspected the woman for the first time. Her hair a mix of silver and white, her eyes a rich amber. She was a petite woman. "My judgements come with my help," he informed her. In the alleyway, with the bodies of the trio scattered around, he decided this wasn't the best place to sit and have a conversation. He nudged her along with his a nod of his head, and the pair began to walk. "I didn't catch your name."

 

[Haunting Melody]

Amaterasu took a couple steps towards the man, stopping a couple meters from him. "Fair enough." The woman said in response to his statement about his judgments. She hadn't been expecting a package deal. When the man nodded towards her, indicating that they should move on to a place less cluttered with injured enemies. Ammy stepped up past him, and listened to his next statement. "My name is Amaterasu Tomoe. May I ask yours?" The woman asked him with a curious glance, a slight smirk crossing her lips. Shortly after, the feeling of the blood on her face finally got to be too much, and she wiped it away with her sleeve.

 

[Fine Frenzy]

"Kalsar, of Clan Rodarch," he admitted. Force users were a deadly bunch, be they Jedi or Sith. The Jedi were not friends of the Mandalorians. In fact, the Jedi weren't anything more than the bastard children of the decaying Galactic Alliance. Not today at least. But it wasn't that long ago that the Mandalorians were killing themselves into obscurity. The Mandalorians were lucky with the rise of Mandalore the Preserver, maybe the Jedi will be lucky too.

The pair walked together. Amaterasu Tomoe. The name didn't ring any bell. Kalsar Rodarch wouldn't either, no doubt. In the massive moving blob of shoppers, they might as well be two junkies looking for an easy fix. Remembering how this all started, the origin of the fight suddenly interested Kalsar. He turned to her, "Why were those people attacking you?"

 

[Haunting Melody]

Kalsar of the clan Rodarch. Mandaloarian as they came. The clan was obscure enough, but the name, he may as well have said something grotesquely alien. Amaterasu glanced to him again as they walked, then around her. The area was quite full, bustling even, especially for such a poor area. Then again, the majority of the people around here were looking for a quick fix to their problems, or to feed their unsavory addictions. This area was notorious for death sticks and various other items that were generally frowned upon. Amaterasu was ever being reminded of her time with the Jedi, something she had been trying to avoid for a while. However, she could never bring herself to stop wielding her lightsaber. Of course, part of the reason for this was that it was her preferred form of combat.

In fact, Ammy began carrying her sword because it became necessary the majority of the time to hide her connections to the jedi. Now and then she was fortunate enough for those she encountered to think she were Sith, but it didn't happen that way often. In that regard, she seldom even used her lightsaber outside of training. When the man who called himself Kalsar spoke again, the woman's gaze again shifted to him. "They attacked me because they discovered my connections to the past. I haven't been a member of that group for several years. Still, they believe I am, so, they attempt to capture or kill me. Force users aren't particularly well-liked in these parts.