New Blood

[Allu'rah Danan]

Coruscant was always so busy, so noisy. Everywhere you looked there were ten million people in a hurry to get about their business. A Togruta armed with a vibropike hardly drew any glances, except for a few predatory leers at her long, lean legs, her lithe body, and her slender shoulders. Not for the first time, Akira realized she probably should stop showing so much skin, especially in metropolis and ecumenopolis like Coruscant. The one thing she had been smart about was her lightsaber, tying her traditional sash around her waist such that the hilt was concealed, but still easily accessible. She doubted that she would be terribly troubled over a lightsaber on Coruscant, what with so many Jedi about. Still, it was a good habit to assume that she was being hunted, and in danger. She frequently did find herself in territory where she could and would be executed as a traitor and a terrorist, even though she considered herself to be neither.

Akira passed an inn, a place with which she was becoming more familiar that was named The Courier's Flask. She circled once around the block to ensure she was not being followed before going inside. Again, she could never be too careful. It didn't take long for the bartender to notice her standing at his counter. It wasn't particularly busy at this time of day. She offered a smile as she leaned over the bar. "An Imperial Sunrise, please," she asked in a low voice. The bartender nodded knowingly and began mixing a light cocktail as Akira took a seat in an empty booth. She took several minutes to enjoy her drink. The young Togruta knew she needed to pace herself, even with small amounts of alcohol. She almost never drank, and couldn't hold her liquor at all. As she finished a plate of hubba chips and a large glass of water later, she was handed her bill, and a little something else besides. Akira pretend to look at the cost of the light meal as she checked which of the several scattered safety deposit boxes she needed to go to in order to claim the package. It had been a while since she had gotten any orders from HIGHCOM. Hopefully the package would have something interesting for her.

 

[Shiuzu]

The gunslinger sipped slowly on the supposedly five year old whiskey, with a rather dissatisfied sigh the kiffar placed his drink back on the counter, Five years, doubt it's been bottle for five days. Barkeep better consider himself lucky I'm waiting for someone, I might of had to put a little scare into him.

While he was most definitely waiting for someone he wasn't exactly meeting someone, the kiffar knew that he was going to be receiving a message from HIGHCOM soon with orders. However this particular Knight was not a fan of the smoke and mirrors the Imperial Knights prided themselves on, for him it had been easier tailing the Togruta he'd noticed a few days ago trying to hide in the grounds, and at that she did a good job, but for someone such as this Kiffar she had a few tells, in how she carried herself, how she acted, and how she walked...also he'd seen her picture once in the Imperial Knight roster.

Once she seemed to have gotten her orders from the server, the kiffar downed the rest of his "aged" scotch and began to follow her out of the bar, as he picked up his pace to walk along side her he casually said,

"So, where's the drop?"

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Akira glanced sideways at the nameless Kiffar with her sharp, silver eyes. He had eluded her senses. Not many people could do that. Still, she tried to avoid getting too hostile despite being cautious. She let her hand brush his for just a moment, and used the bridge to try to contact his mind. It was a primeval method, using physical contact to try and reach the mind, but it helped to circumvent many safeguards people tended to have. She did not see anything specific, only flashes and glimpses, but it answered two very important questions: yes, he was an Imperial Knight, so yes, she could trust him. Well, to an extent.

"Where we go is not so far," Akira answered in her peculiar accent. Even after more then a year and a half off of Shili, her manner of speaking had scarcely changed. She looked straight ahead and continued walking towards a taxi stand. Not so far, relatively speaking. "You elude and sneak up on a seer. Well done. I must be more cautious, more humble in my abilities." The Togruta flagged down a cab, and held the door open for the kiffar to get in. As he did so, she slipped off her vibropike before climbing in behind him, resting the weapon across her lap.

"Galactic Capital Bank, District M-25" she instructed. If her accent hadn't given her away, the cab driver's eye roll said that such formal designation of the neighborhood screamed 'come-from-away'. Still, it was not very long before she was paying the driver her few credit chits and then withdrawing the package from the safety deposit box. Inside was a fresh supply of money, and a datapad with orders. She rejoined the kiffar in a side street beside the bank. "Here," she uttered, shoving the datapad into his hands as she opened a small pouch on he belt and tucked the bundle of money inside.

 

[Shiuzu]

The Kiffar looked through the datapad he'd been handed, it contained the usual set of orders HIGHCOM would throw upon their soldiers, continue to disrupt Sith activities wherever possible, do better than we're currently doing. After thumbing through the fluff he found the orders he was looking for.

Attention Akira and Gunslinger, your orders are to rendezvous with Imperial Knight Squire Scott Thorne. You will guide him and teach him until a permanent knight can be found for the prospect to squire for. Teach him well, and stick to the shadows.

Kiffar snuffed at the orders, Babysitting, this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I joined the Knights, but I suppose orders are orders, I'll tag along with Akira and see if this prospect is worth it.

Handing the datapad to the Togruta The Kiffar muttered, "Seems we're sticking together a bit longer."

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Akira stepped over to take a look at the orders. Her reading comprehension in Basic had significantly improved since she began studying under the Imperial Knights, but she still was not a terribly quick reader. "I guess you are Gunslinger?" she asked, not bothering to glance over at him as her silver irises continued to pass over the text. She nodded as she finished, then wiped the datapad clean. She walked further down the side street to a place that was not as crowded and congested as everywhere else.

Akira closed her eyes, and attempted to block out the noise of the city. No, block out wasn't quite right. It was more like... sifting. Yes. She sifted through the white noise of the streets, through the background noise of worries and fears of people living in a galaxy at war, and moved deeper. She moved beyond the crime and law, beyond even the people, until she felt the pulse. It was a faint throbbing at the moment, but only because there was so much garbage noise. She focused on that pulse, gently nudging it closer. The throbbing gradually grew louder, beat by beat, until it was nearly deafening. It almost overwhelmed her senses, and it infused every fiber of her being with energy. This was Coruscant's heartbeat. This was life.

The Togruta took a deep breath, and then let go of her last bits of self-awareness. She was instantly swept away from her current location in the busy side street. She trusted herself to the currents, flowing so rapidly around her. She stood as still as a statue, hardly breathing. After what felt like an hour, but in reality was merely the span of a few heartbeats, Akira took a deep breath and opened her eyes, turning to look at the kiffar. "I know where to find Thorne," she said simply, and began to lead the way through the bustling crowd.

 

[MoreThanSane]

Scott Thorne lounged in his chair, booted feet resting atop the table in front of him. He clasped his hands comfortably behind his head and lazily looked around the crowded cafe. The "Cocky Cathar" it was called. It was small, casual, and obviously quite popular, yet it couldn't be considered nice by any standard. The cheerful atmosphere that the cafe's staff attempted to force was rather strangely interwoven with the air of menace surrounding the majority of its clientele. Scott had seen two knife attacks and one muted slug-thrower killing in the short hour he'd been resting.

Luckily, he didn't know anyone on Coruscant, and so doubted that anyone would be gunning for him. Except that Imperial Knight, he amended to himself, but I didn't even get his name. He thought back to their rapid duel in an alleyway several days before. Scott had been fighting his entire life, but never before had he seen someone who moved with such speed, such ferocious accuracy. It was both dizzying and impressive. He was just lucky that--for once--words hadn't failed him. If the Knight hadn't believed his story, Scott had no doubt he'd be lying dead in some unknown lower-level sewage container with a snapped neck and multiple knife wounds.

But the Knight had believed his story, and now he got to spend every day sitting in the same cafe, hoping that he'd be contacted by the possibly too cloak-and-dagger oriented organization. They'd better get on with it soon, he thought. He'd spent most of the credits he'd saved over the past years during his several month search to simply find an Imperial Knight. Now he was so broke that he was considering trying to sell one of his ships.

If they don't get in touch today, then I'm going to have to. It was a hard decision, as he was rather attached to both of his vessels, but it would be necessary. Especially if the ever-elusive Knights decided that he wasn't cut out for their organization. Kriff, I don't even know if I'm Force-sensitive. There had been occurrences over the years that led him to suspect himself of being so, but nothing concrete.

Oh well, he thought, if not I'm sure they could use a good soldier. Sighing, he changed his position slightly and settled in for another day of waiting.

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

It took several hours of travel to find the place where they were supposed to meet the prospective student, and the bulk of the time they moved on foot. Akira simply found that her feet guided her better when they were touching the ground. She did not bother to say it helped her feel the planet's pulse better. Her senses did not fail her, or at least, she sensed they did not. Neither Knight said much in that period of time.

It was early evening when the odd pair found themselves standing outside the Cocky Cathar Café, and it didn't take a genius to figure out the sort of clientele they catered to. Even thugs need coffee and a biscuit sometimes. Akira glanced from herself to her companion. Even standing outside the building was earning them a few glances. Perhaps she had just grown suspicious, but Akira felt uneasy about going into the cafe. "Perhaps you go speak to Thorne?" she suggested to the Kiffar. "You stand out less than I do. You talk to him, and I keep watch for signs of trouble."

 

[Shiuzu]

The Kiffar looked upon the cafe with his usual face full of disdain, Couldn't of been a bar, it had to be a coffee shop. Sighing heavily after Akira suggested her plan the Kiffar wordless bent down towards the ground and began covering himself with dust and mud, mostly on his clothes but the gunslinger also slapped some upon his face and between his fingers.

"Come in five minutes after me. I'll find out if he's worth our time." He said as he began to walk towards the bar, swaying back and forth as though he'd been drinking heavily for many hours.

Stumbling into the cafe The Kiffar looked around to get a feel of the cafe, the staff seemed to have an unusual air of cheeriness about them, the floor was worn in several spots, likely from overscrubbing caused by excessive amounts of blood spilled on the floors. Seemed like your usual lower level building on Coruscant. Everything else in the cafe was largely irrelevant aside from the one man he spotted sitting with his foot up on a table.

Thorne.

The Kiffar took a credit chip out of his pocket as he began to stumble towards the man and plopped himself down in the chair next to him.

"Care for a game of shkill?" The Kiffar slurred as he waved the credit chip around, "It'sh simple, just place the ship on on elbow like so." Gunslinger placed the chip on his elbow after missing twice. Then without warning flung the chip in the air and clumsily snatched it. "Shee? We keep on adding until one of us -hic- can't catch them all. Think you can keep up?"

While The Kiffar wasn't a fan of the smoke and mirrors of HIGHCOM, he did admit that a bit of deception was necessary. This would test the boys perception and give an idea of his skill.

 

[MoreThanSane]

The man was different. This he noticed immediately upon seeing his stumble into the Cocky Cathar. One didn't live through as many flirtations with death as Scott Thorne without learning the subtle art of observation, and it did not fail him here. The man looked around, head bobbing clumsily. He wasn't all that out of the ordinary. In fact, Scott got the feeling that he'd have little trouble blending in wherever he may be. But there was something there--something small and vague for now, perhaps, but definitely there.

As the man turned and walked toward Scott, swaying all the way, he searched for the thing. The man's mannerisms were the epitome of drunkenness. The way his expressions morphed slowly, back and forth. The way he fidgeted. The way his legs seemed to push him forward, unsure whether the next step would be off a ledge or into a wall. For a moment Scott wondered if he was simply too suspicious, but then he saw it and cursed his negligence.

It was the eyes. It's always the eyes.

As the man sat down, Scott noticed his facial tatoos. Kiffar. He'd not had many run-ins with the race. He remembered killing one once, years ago. He shoved the memory from his mind as the Kiffar spoke.

"Care for a game of shkill?"

He nailed the slurs.

Excellent performance, Scott thought.

"It'sh simple, just place the ship on on elbow like so." Gunslinger placed the chip on his elbow after missing twice. Then without warning flung the chip in the air and clumsily snatched it. "Shee? We keep on adding until one of us -hic- can't catch them all. Think you can keep up?"

Scott couldn't be sure whether the Kiffar was a simple conman or--just maybe--the contact the Imperial Knights had promised to him. Deciding to play along for the moment, he pulled his feet off the table, leaning forward and grabbing a chip from his pocket. He held it up between thumb and forefinger. "I'm sure of it."

He mirrored the man's action, catching the chip. "I don't play just for fun, though," he looked up, pulling another chip from his pocket and stacked them on his elbow. He caught them, then raised an eyebrow. "What's the prize?"

 

[Shiuzu]

The Kiffar looked at the man with a glassy look upon his face, before stacking four more chips on his elbow, deftly he flung them into the air, clumsily plucking the first two out of the air like two ripe peaches, the third required a more precise grab, and for show he leaned so far back to grab the fourth he crashed noisily right out of his chair,

"Winner takesh all shlummy." Gunslinger wasn't too sure how long his performance would last, but he would keep it up for the time being. Perhaps this contest would allow him to beat his old record.

 

[MoreThanSane]

Scott managed to keep a straight face as the Kiffar crashed to the floor, but only barely. He allowed himself a small smile as the man scooted back into his chair, four chips clutched in his hand. "Impressive," he said. Their game of skill was drawing attention of certain other patrons, he noticed, looking around. Not all of them seemed friendly.

Slowly, Scott stacked four chips on his elbow. He eyed the other carefully, but the man's blank expression gave away nothing. "Y'know, I've played this game once or twice. Pretty good at it." He flung the chips up and swiped them smoothly from their freefall. "But hey, I'm no Jedi Knight." He hoped the man--if he was indeed an Imperial Knight agent--would get the message. He snorted. "I wouldn't want to be either," he began re-stacking the chips. "Seems like everything they do is just a facade, y'know? One giant act." He winked at the Kiffar, then flung the chips into the air. He nearly missed the fifth, but managed to barely catch it between his pinky and ring finger.

Ball's in your court, he thought.

 

[Shiuzu]

Wordlessly The Kiffar stacked six chips upon his elbow, bobbing his head back and forth looking as though he could barely support the weight of his own head. After the couple bobs of his head he'd gotten an idea of the attention they'd gathered with their game of skill. Even in a place like this throwing around chips attracted the wrong kind of attention. It seemed a good thing the prospect was catching on, The Kiffar would prefer a quick get-a-way with the new guy if things went bad.

Flinging the coins smoothly into the air The Kiffar snatched each coin from the air with the fluidity of a hawk stealing a fish from water, seeming to sober up more quickly than most would, The Kiffar said, "Not bad. Don't forget to watch where they're going." It seemed as though he'd gone as far as he could with his pretend drunken antics. From here on this would be an honest test of skill.

"And I'm no Jedi either." The Kiffar said while scoffing slightly. He never felt too strongly either way about The Jedi. And their new alliance seemed to be for the better, but time would tell. Could even help wipe off the few blemishes off The Kiffar's record. They only ever found out about the small stuff anyway.

 

[MoreThanSane]

Scott watched as the Kiffar swiped six chips out of the air. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck tingle as their little bout drew more and more attention. There was a definite feeling of menace directed their way, and Scott wasn't sure how many credits the more daring of the group would wait for the two to reveal before making their move.

If it happens, he thought, it'll be sooner rather than later.

He'd tired of waiting. He pulled six more chips from his pocket. "Double or nothin'."

Slowly, making sure not to knock over the tall stack, he set them up. He knew that there were very talented beings who'd set astonishing records, but his personal best was far less impressive than those incredibly dexterous people. Approximately nine, if memory served.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, focusing hard. He realized it was just a game, but Scott Thorne didn't lose. He had no excuse. Not anymore. Not after all he'd gone through. Certainly not after all he'd learned. Knowing that delaying would gain him nothing, Scott snapped his eyes open and jerked his elbow. The credits soared. He swept his hand in a downward arc, snatching up eight, nine, ten, then flipped it around, catching the last four a mere centimeter or two from the grungy floor.

He sighed silently, knowing that that was the extent of his skill. Thirteen would simply be too many. How others had managed to catch hundreds without letting any touch the floor was beyond him.

He looked at the Kiffar across the table, suddenly aware once again of the amount of eyes focused on him. Or rather, the twelve credits in his open palm. He put on his darkest scowl, a sense of satisfaction spreading through his chest as he noticed several patrons quickly look away.

"Well," he said, letting the scowl slip, "I'll admit that's as far as I'm going to get with this game. If you best me here, the pot's yours. Unless one of these fine gentlebeings," he jerked his head toward the Cathar's other occupants, "take a special interest."

 

[Shiuzu]

The Kiffar was certainly impressed, though he chose not to show it, the rookie didn't need any remeasurement yet, he was still too green. He needed to go through the trials before being considered a brother. He'd certainly shown a fair amount of skill in both reflexes and perception, but he'd need to prove his dedication and how well he holds up in a fight, but it would not be here The Gunslinger would test those things.

"Those of you thinking it, I and my friends outside wouldn't suggest it." The Kiffar said still staring at the prospect slouched in his seat, as he pulled back the worn leather duster to reveal the Modified DE-10 blaster pistol attached to his hip. The Kiffar might of been bluffing, but common scum like this is easily scared off for a while when confronted with superior numbers and firepower.

"You're good. You'll get better. Or you won't." He said as he began to stack a towering fifteen credit chips upon his right elbow. He'd have to establish his skill and dominance now if the prospect in front of him was to become a knight. The Kiffar closed his eyes raising his left open hand upon his right closed fist, without a moments hesitation the Kiffar slammed his hands together flicking the coins off his elbow higher in the air than before. Deftly The Kiffar felt out with the force and plucked the first five before they even began to fall, the next four once they reached the height of their jump, three more on their way down, two near the floor. The air seemed to leave the room as The Kiffar reached for the final chip, time slowed down, and even the ones scared away who were pretending not to look held their breath in anticipation looking upon the strange man's now enclosed hand.

The Kiffar slowly opened his eyes looking at Thorne with the same cold stare he'd donned since abandoning his drunk gimmick and slowly dropped each coin upon the table until he reached fourteen.

The final coin clanked softly upon the table.

Fifteen, that'd been a new record for The Kiffar as well. Now he'd just have to push himself to sixteen, but that would be later. For now he'd be looking after the prospect. Wordlessly he tipped his hat towards Thorne, pushed himself from his chair and began to walk out of the cafe.

Follow, if you won't blink. The Kiffar thought to himself.

 

[MoreThanSane]

Scott was impressed, and that impressed him. He'd been around the galaxy dozens of times, and rarely had he met anyone worthy of his respect.

This man was.

The sheer precision and calmness the Kiffar had exuded, not to mention the expert touch of theatricality, had been astonishing. Scott felt the beginnings of admiration stirring deep inside him. Nevertheless, he met the man's cold stare with one equally impassive. The man tipped his hat, then slid smoothly from his chair, any hint of drunkenness completely abolished.

Scott kicked his chair back, ignoring the loud screech it made against the dirty floor, and followed the man as he slipped between tables and patrons. He was certain now that the man was his designated contact, but he hadn't missed the comment about his "friends outside". Scott had been under the impression that the Imperial Knights operated alone on most occasions. It could have, of course, been a bluff.

The Kiffar walked out the Cathar's main entrance, dodging a pair of inebriated Gran. Picking up his pace, Scott followed.

 

[Shiuzu]

The Kiffar strolled out of the bar lighting up a cigarra as he walked, not to relax. Those effects had long since lost their appeal, he'd just become accustomed to the smell. Thorne apparently had decided to follow, The Gunslinger was curious if Thorne would regret that even before the day was out.

The Kiffar spotted Akira around the area she decided to wait at, offering a single nod towards the Togruta joined his side along with Thorne, moving quicker and quieter than he believed most people were capable of doing.

"Thorne, this is Akira. Akira, Thorne. She'll give you the quick version. I need to think of a way off this rock." The Kiffar was normally not a fan of taking standard transport off of inner planets such as Coruscant, these people liked to ask too many questions, keep too many records. Even before he became an Imperial Knight Kiffar tried to avoid them, a man in his previous line of work didn't like being remembered.

 

[Allu'rah Danan]

Akira nodded in greeting to the recruit, pushing off from the wall she was leaning against. She motioned for the other two to follow her. "We move, I feel uneasy. Danger may be lurking about this place." She turned and began walking down the busy street. Often the easiest way to avoid being seen was by hiding in plain sight. There were many sights far stranger than the young Togruta woman and her present company.

"You try to get the attention of our superiors. They take notice. They send us to find you. Your training starts as soon as we get off this world. We try to place you in a retinue, but finding others takes time and there are risks with rendez-vous." As they came to an intersection in the street, Akira placed a hand on one of the buildings on the corner. Her eyes slid part way shut for half a moment. They snapped open again and she gestured for the two to follow, taking a right-hand turn. "I guide us to the spaceport, but you have ideas Kiffar?" she asked. She had stowed away on ships before, but it was much easier with one or two, certainly not three.

 

[MoreThanSane]

The Togruta's accent was unorthodox, but Scott found himself able to follow her speech nonetheless. As they moved through the crowded streets, he wondered just what she was talking about. A retinue? he wondered. He knew little details about the Imperial Knights, but he hadn't the slightest idea as to what she meant by a retinue.

However, he did have an easy way off the planet. "I have a ship," he said plainly. The two Knights seemed to be expecting trouble, and he'd rather not have his ship damaged, but it was certainly better than enduring the ordeal of finding alternate transport. "Small, fast, armed and armored. It'll fly us all, easy."

He glanced around as they halted for a moment, senses alert. There were always dangers lurking in Coruscant's lower levels, but now was really not the time for them to make themselves known. Unfortunately danger never comes when you want it to. "It can get us out of here safely. Unless," he added, "you two are expecting trouble."

 

[Shiuzu]

"Always be ready for trouble." If Thorne listened to that he'd live longer. In dangerous work like this you always have to keep one eye open, otherwise you'll end up with a knife going through the other eye. The Kiffar did not have a way with words, he said little and when he did it was to the point. He was not the kind for teaching, HIGHCOM may have given him this position, but he would not enjoy it for the time being, for now he hoped Thorne would learn what he needed to by watching.

"We'll stow away on a freighter, easy enough to hide, enough space to go unnoticed. We'll check drop for any more orders."

The Kiffar kept a brisk pace, planets like Coruscant made him nervous, too many face, both familiar and unfamiliar. When you do enough "odd jobs" for people in all heights of society, smaller planets became a life jacket of sorts, a small backwater life jacket where people are more concerned with harvests and getting by to care enough to take notice of a Kiffar with a fancy gun. On a place like Coruscant there are millions of slime balls that would sell any information on anyone for a few credits and a pat on the back.

A trait both useful and damning, often in the same day.