Sabers and Sabaac

[Crim]

Spoiler: IMG

Ootmana Bunko
Rubin Sector, Nar Shaddaa
Level 920 ∂

Lights from the moon-wide city gleamed, illuminating the night sky. Various shades of colors from buildings, decorations, and advertisements could be seen for miles. Despite the high-tech surroundings, Nar Shaddaa was a criminal haven; anything but civilized. People came to Nar Shaddaa to commit various atrocities against galactic law, from spice running to murder to human trafficking. There were 90 billion people on Nar Shaddaa. It was statistically impossible to find an individual on the planet if one was looking for him. It was the perfect place to drown in the crowds. The business on Nar Shaddaa was crime and information. If you were a known figure, you either ran a major spice empire or you knew everything about someone's spice empire.

Anyone could hide on Nar Shaddaa. Murderers, war criminals, traitors, serial rapists, spice lords, and your average Joe could all be living in the same apartment block, especially in the trying times during and after the Fall of Coruscant. Even an Imperial Knight, a warrior devoted to the true Empire, could be found on Nar Shaddaa. The most hunted sect in the entire galaxy, with numbers dropping dangerously close to the extinction mark, could still be found on Nar Shaddaa. Information brokers knew everything about everyone. Information was everything. So how did Ainu Navkh avoid Imperial detection?

He WAS the information

Navkh was in the information broker business. He worked for Kalo the Hutt, the powerful lord of the Rubin Sector. Navkh ran the Ootmana Bunko, or Outlander's Paradise, a club near the Rubin spaceport. The penthouse bar looked over the spaceport district. The bar's giant windows, from the outside, reflected a panorama of the city below it. From the inside, however, one could see for tens of kilometers. Vibrant music and great drinks could be experienced at Ootmana Bunko along with gambling, comedy shows, and other sources of entertainment. Ainu wasn't in the entertainment business however. He was in the information business. His office was situated in the level above the bar, at the very top of the tower.

"Julian Batsken's been dead for five years now," Ainu said to a customer. "His debts were collected in the form of a starship by a hunter employed for Vaggon."
"Vaggon?!"
"Yeah, we all know what happened to Vaggon's estate and property once he died. Valen didn't make things much better. Once Valen's estate was captured, anything of value was taken away. For an extra 1000 credits, I can trace where this starship went."
"1000 credits?!"
"Were you under the impression that my services were cheap?"
"No, but 1000 credits is ridiculous!"
"On the contrary. Do you have any idea how much it costs to run this operation and Ootmana Bunko?"
"I am an important man and Batsken owed me money. I want to collect, damn it."
"Then a man of your standing should be able to afford this. What do the entertainers downstairs say? No dough, no show?"
"Kriffing fine. Here," the man said, holding out his credit chit. Ainu swiped it into the terminal at his desk and handed it back to the man. The 1000 credits was withdrawn from his account into one of Ainu's proxy bank accounts.
"Thank you. The starship was recovered by the Exchange and its registry was changed. I'm forwarding it to your datapad. The ship has changed hands over the last five years almost six times. Gambling debts, theft, a legitimate sale. It's currently operating under the name Jenni. Its last port of entry was documented in the Rubin sector. That spaceport over there, in fact."
"When?"
"About a month ago. It was last seen joining the offworld lanes."
"Which direction?"
"1000 credits, please."
The man handed Ainu his credit chit again. Ainu swiped it again and continued.
"Orbital satellites collect calculated trajectories. His ship was going to Coruscant."
"A month ago?"
"Yes. It's likely that it was destroyed when Coruscant fell or abandoned if its owner was killed."
"Can't you trace it?!"
"There is a communications blackout in much of the damaged areas of Coruscant. We're getting a lot of these. There is no way of knowing where it is. Luckily, however, I can approximate where it was headed. Orbital cameras and tracers on Coruscant can sometimes tell where ships are heading and where they came from. He dropped out of hyperspace during the Sith attack in an attempt to escort people out of the Senate hall."
Ainu typed at his computer before saying, "There was a body count done at the Senate Hall following the invasion. The owner was among them. Take a look for yourself." He rotated the monitor display to show the customer. "He was killed by weapons carried by Imperial Stormtroopers, likely the 501st. Looks like our friend thought he was a bit of a hero. What became of his ship is up to speculation at this point, though I have a lead. That'll be another 1000."
The man continued to cough up more credits.
"Thank you. There's a report of a Rand Freighter found abandoned near the Senate Hall. It took a bit of fire and had to make an emergency landing. It was taken to Raxus Prime and left in the T-5 Junk Ring. That's where you'll probably find it. Given the trajectory and speed it was going when it was released, I can more-or-less pinpoint its approximate location in the ring."
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Navkh."
"Don't mention it."

As the business man left, Ainu secured the vault-like door to his office and began his daily scouring for information on any Imperial Knights out there.

 

[©razy Man]

Shenzai had been given information that a certain information broker was in search for the Imperial Knights and had plenty of information to spare about the Sith and their associates. Hopefully he could get the man to talk about it though this was highly unlikely, atleast without credits. Shenzai walked toward the man's office and read his name on it; Ainu Navkh. The door to his office opened and another man walked out, definitely not the one he was looking for.

The man bumped into Shenzai on accident or on purpose he had no idea but either way it did not matter. Opening the door to the man's office he continued in slowly just in case he was mistaken for a foe he had his hands up as he did not want to start a fight especially on this despicable planet. Continuing in he closed the door with his foot and realized he still had his sword on him by accident. Looks like this would be a fun thing to explain.

Shenzai paused for a moment and took in the room he was in making sure there weren't any traps he could see or hidden weapons. Though there were surveillance cameras all around probably sending recordings to a computer in which this Ainu was watching. He would probably send out some robots or something that would make him give up his weapons if he was smart. Or maybe this man wasn't just an intel guy probably capable of taking Shenzai in a one on one battle. Who knew?

 

[Crim]

Thus far, it was turning out to be another fruitless data scour. No new relevant info on suspected or confirmed Imperial Knights from the major news networks. Their hiding was turning out to be a successful effort, but the Imperials were still mad about the Imperial Knight at the Battle of Coruscant. Detection efforts have increased. Ainu didn't even know the Sith could do anything more with detection efforts. They were either horrible detectives or the Imperial Knights were excellent at hiding. From what Ainu has seen or heard from the Sith, both seem to be true. Of course, conspiracy theorists were always trying to find some Imperial Knight conspiracy. After Emperor Palpatine, the galaxy has never trusted politicians. The Galaxy Enquirer especially loved Imperial Knight stories.

"Mr. Navkh, your next client is waiting for you in the scanning room. Kushari male. He doesn't seem to pose a threat," the PA said. Ainu grunted and closed what he was doing. He rarely had time to look for the Knights now, but any client could point him in the right direction of another Imperial Knight, even inadvertently. He looked on a second terminal that displayed what was going on in the scanning room. A scroll of text next to it provided basic intel on the Kushari. It's been a while since I've seen a Kushari in here," Ainu said. He pressed a button on his desk that activated the door. The sound of a heavy metal door unlocking was followed by the sound of the door opening.

"Welcome, Mister... Shenzai, Ainu said, looking at his terminal displaying rudimentary information on the Kushari. "Have a seat. What can I help you with?"

 

[©razy Man]

Shenzai looked around and noticed a door open to the left of him. To his surprise a droid was standing in the doorway beckoning him forward. He didn't know of there being any meeting scheduled but maybe one of his associates had scheduled one or more so gave the man a hint of him coming. "Mr. Navkh will now see you." He walked forward making sure it wasn't some trap and had his guard up just in case.

"Welcome, Mister... Shenzai. Have a seat. What can I help you with?"

The Kushari looked the man in the eyes as he had found out his name. Surely one of his clients or associates wouldn't give away that information? He pondered on it for a moment and decided to come back on it later. He grabbed a black chair and pulled back and sat down. "Well you see Mr. Navkh, I have recently discovered from one of my clients that you have been searching for the Imperial Knights. I would like to know that first and foremost. Another pressing matter I have come here for is if you have any information on the Sith. Their known whereabouts, skills, etc."

Shenzai stretched behind himself just in case the man decided to pull a quick one on him he could easily jump over the back of his chair and grab his sword. Hopefully though there was more to this man rather than an intelligence broker.

 

[Crim]

Right off the bat, the man was talking about the Imperial Knights. Then he switches to talking about the Sith and if Ainu knew anything about them. This could spell trouble for Ainu and the Imperial Knights. If people knew of Ainu's mission, the Imperial Knights could be traced and attacked. This intel was a threat and this man in front of him could be an even bigger threat. Ainu pressed a button on his desk and the shutters to Nar Shaddaa closed. All communication devices were blocked and a low trembling noise could be heard. The trembling noise prevented sound from leaving the room. To the rest of the galaxy, the two people in this room didn't exist. The doors locked and the room entered lockdown mode. Ainu glared at the man in front of him and grinned. "I assume you're the new guy Shiz picked up?"

"I have to admit. If I hadn't heard about the new furry guy, I would have been a little suspicious. More than a little, in fact. But I cover my tracks well enough to know that the only people who know about my mission are people the Imperial Knights trust. And if Shiz trusted you enough to send you to me, who am I to complain? Allow me to properly reintroduce myself," Ainu said. He stood up, towering above even the Kushari. He bowed and said, "I am Knight Ainu Navkh. It is an honor to meet you, Shenzai Kosher."

 

[©razy Man]

Shenzai looked at the man to see if he was telling the truth or not but his instinct told him he was. And more often than not his instinct was right. "It is more so my honor to meet you." He bowed deep and low to show the man his seniority over him. His rank of Knight and probably his knowledge of the Force far exceeded his which wasn't saying much though. "May I ask if Shiz was the one that made the call and if she did why?" The last time he talked to her was over the phone. Her checking up on him to make sure he was settling in and all the junk someone would do.

He looked at the man's big frame far exceeding even his muscle and height. Which was quite a surprise as he had not met anyone out of his own race or in the Wookiee race that had that on him. He was glad the man did know of him as he wouldn't want to see the outcome of the fight afterwards, though for who that would be the victor was a tie. Unless of course the man used the force in which case he would most likely win.

 

[Crim]

"To be honest, nobody told me you were coming. All I knew about you was that 'Shiz may have gotten us a new guy.' They also wondered how I would get along with a Kushari. We keep most communications to a minimum. The last thing we need is a credit trail and nobody wants to be THE guy who accidentally leaks information." Ainu looked at the room, still in lockdown. "As you can tell, we take secrecy very seriously." Ainu wished more info could be traded, but the Knights wanted to keep communication down to a minimum. He had no idea what most people in the Knights looked like at this point. He didn't even know what species most of them were. It could get annoying when so much info was kept off all frequencies.

"So how far are you in your training? Do you carry a lightsaber or did you keep your blaster? I think a few even switched their sabers out for vibroblades.

 

[©razy Man]

Shenzai nodded towards Ainu he seemed to be rather nice from what he could tell. "It seems so far we are." He looked at his sword and shook his head. "I've had little to no training what so ever. The Code was only briefly told to me about secrecy and procedures to keep it and that's about all. The Force I've only learned to block mental attacks and such, though I am not sure if that is a Force Power, but that was self taught from all the encounters I have had with the Sith. My Blade is my mother's though having a lightsaber would be nice, though I have heard of Force Imbuing or something to that extent."

He looked at Ainu taking in his form now. He seemed to be an Arnurgh, one of the few creatures that could take on his race. He also seemed to have cybernetics giving him the upper advantages clearly, add in his force powers...yeah he'd definitely lose in a fight against Ainu.

 

[Crim]

"Shame. Though that does open up doors for possibilities, Ainu said, pacing. He scratched his chin as he walked and thought. "Normally, the Imperial Knighs, or any lightsaber-wielding faction, trains apprentices with vibroblades first before moving on to lightsabers. It's good that you have a blade that carries sentimental value. It keeps you from losing it or letting it corrode. A blade is an extension of the body and people that don't grow attached to their blades don't live for very long in battle. Regarding your Force ability, I can definitely sense potential. It just requires focus before you can channel it into powers.

"It may be a difficult and long road, but I am willing to teach you about the Knights, how to covertly operate, how to communicate with the Force, and, of course, how to wield a blade. Again, it will not be easy, but being a Knight isn't about doing what's easy. It's about doing what's right," Ainu continued. He knew Shiz wouldn't have introduced Shenzai into the Imperial Knights if she thought the Kushari was lazy, so it went without saying, but Ainu wanted to make the difficulty of an Imperial Knight's life very obvious. The Jedi spent their time devoted to peace and tranquility; solving problems with diplomacy. The Sith spent their time fueling their anger and ambition. The Imperial Knights spent their lives devoted to serving a true Emperor.

 

[©razy Man]

Shenzai nodded at what the Arnurgh said. He knew from his experiences with the Jedi and the Sith of their teaching but had never gone into it that much to keep them on terms as partners not brothers/sisters. Only few earned the right to be called a brother or sister to Shenzai and most of the Imperial Knights had already earned it from him, even if they had not met. "So I guess we'll start whenever you're ready. I am quite eager to finally learn of the history and what it means to be a true Imperial Knight. And not to worry I am not looking for something easy, makes me feel like I've cheated myself."

He took the sheathe on his back and sat it in front of his chair. He sat down in the chair and awaited to be told of what to do. Shenzai recalled what the Arnurgh said about his capacity for the Force, was it really that good or was Ainu trying to be nice? Either way he knew he had potential but judging from the way he said it, it was a lot more than he had assumed.

 

[Crim]

"Good, Ainu said, walking to a bookcase on the opposite end of the room. He began pulling several books half-way out as the bookcase began to slide aside. There was a door behind where the bookcase had been. "I know it isn't very original," Ainu said as he walked to the door and pressed a button on it. The door opened and revealed an elevator inside. "This elevator takes us to the secret area I built for myself. It's got a training room, archives, and anything else one would need while training in the ways of the Imperial Knights. I've gone to lengths to keep it completely secret.

As Ainu stepped on to the massive elevator, he motioned for Shenzai to join him.