Ask Coruscant Survival Of The Fittest

[Neera Naz-Neen]

Coruscant Undercity ​

What…the actual… kriff?!

One minute, Neera was minding her own business, and the next, there was blaster fire! Not entirely uncommon, given Coruscant’s notorious underbelly, but this wasn’t some accidental crossfire. Some kracking junker had purposefully fired on her, meaning she was now a walking target. Why?

Questions later. Gotta find cover…

Pain shot through both the upper and lower portion of Neera’s left side. She didn’t have to look to know she’d been hit. Luckily, they had only scorched the skin, grazing her at best but frackle, it still hurt! Holding onto her side, the Nagai limped from one shadowy alley to another; the movement might have pained her but it certainly kept the adrenaline going. If she wanted to survive, Neera would have to keep moving and put as much distance as possible between her and whoever was shooting.

There’s two of them…No, three. Kriff! Can’t die here. Not here…

She might have been born amongst these streets but no way in Hoth was she going to die in one of them. There was still so much to do, so much to gain. Neera needed to get top side, once there she could find safe shelter, just long enough so she could figure out what the kark was going on.

“Come out, you little schutta!”

Freezing on the spot, the Nagai fell silent. The sleemos were close. Even worse, it seemed like they were clearing through each of the alleyways one by one. Trash cans were kicked aside, all whilst blaster shots fired here and there; all scare tactics to flush her out. Neera hunkered down, knowing that if she broke cover, it would likely be her death.

@homewrecker

 

[Kirby von Danderman]

A space hotdog was stuffed into the mouth of a young human man in the corner booth of a Diner, located in one of the lower streets of Coruscant's undercity. Kirby was sat in silence, his usually bright face filled with a glum aura. He had been in something of a depressive episode ever since the announcement was made - that Jedi were criminals and no longer welcome on Coruscant.

He knew there had to have been some sort of mistake or espionage at play, the Jedi were the good guys! They were obviously being framed. Instead of exiling himself like the rest of them he had decided that he was going to stay behind and take advantage of his... unique.. position as a Jedi - that position being that he wasn't one - In order to try and find a way to help the Jedi's cause on the planet and hopefully make sure the public's opinion of the Jedi remained positive until this whole misunderstanding blew over.

Kirby was staring at his Lightsaber hilt, pondering what he could possibly do to try and correct the government's mistake, when The Force gave him an answer in the form of several bright red flashes coming from an allyway. He turned to look out the window and shot up when he saw what looked to be a woman limping into one of the allyways - slowly persued by atleast three men. This was it. A chance to show someone in the city that The Jedi were still the good guys. Kirby ran out the Diner's door and skidded to a halt. He quickly ran back in and threw some credits onto the table, before he bolted back outside.

He rolled his eyes and made another trip back inside, throwing two more credits down - always leave a tip.

Kirby brought himself to a crouch when he reached the buildings near the allyway. He knew these streets like the back of his hand and knew exactly how to get a better view of what was going on. Using a combination of a broken fire-escape and some garbage dumpsters, Kirby managed to climb himself ontop of a smaller building's rooftop. Peering down he could see the scene from a bird's eye view. He saw one of the blaster wielding thugs approaching the hide place of the lady, who was obviously fearing for her life. Desperately in need of a heroic rescue from someone as brave and powerful as a Jedi.

Taking a deep breath, Kirby pulled his goggles down over his eyes. The man with the blaster was inches away from the lady when Kirby would call out from the rooftop. "Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" The man with the blaster looked up and his face scrunched up with a confused look as it was hard to hear the weirdo on the roof from 10 metres away. With a click of his heels Kirby activated his jump boots and stepped off the rooftop, his shock absorbing knee braces letting out a hydraulic hiss as he landed. A heroic yet strangely sickening Red Light flooded the allyway as Kirby ignited his lightsaber and bravely swung it upwards, cutting the barrel of the man's blaster in half.

"A Jedi perhaps?" He smirked and stared the man down, praying to The Force or whatever God could hear him right now that this show would be enough to scare the man away.

​

 

[Neera Naz-Neen]

Heart thumping, Neera could feel the proverbial noose tighten. Her pursuers were closing in and now they had her cornered. With no way out, she'd be forced to face them; any other time, any other day, she would have kicked some serious arse, but that was easier said than done, especially when suffering from two separate blaster shots. The Nagai could target the thug closest to her, she could take a chance and reach for his weapon. He was a twi'lek and, judging from the blaster in hand, he was the one who shot her.

Sleemo's gonna pay...kriffing shooting at me when my back turned...karking chump...

Just the thought made Neera angry, and anger was good. It was currently the only thing keeping her from passing out. She knew not to look, never look, but one glance and...Yeah. Go figure. She was in pretty bad shape. The blaster shots from earlier might have just grazed her but with all that moving, the scorched flesh had splintered open, causing blood to dribble out. Making matters worse, the material of her clothes had become charred all around those wounded areas; it was hard to tell what was flesh and what was fabric, seeing now the two had melted into one.

There was no doubt. If she didn't get some sort of treatment and fast... she'd be as good as dead.

A shot through the heart would do just as well, minus the prolonged suffering. A lesser grifter might have taken that deal but not Neera. Stubborn as she was, she'd survive this. She didn't know how, and she didn't know why, but somehow she'd survive. That's just the way it always worked out. The universe wasn't done with her yet.

Right on cue, as if proving her point, out popped this random good samaritan. Was someone really coming to help her, here in the undercity? It was hardly worth believing...

Wait...Did he just say... No. No, she was just delirious. There was no way on Hoth a...

"A J-Jedi?! Here?!" The thugs seemed just as surprised as Neera, so much so the two Zabraks thugs stumbled back.

Only the Twi'lek seemed cocky enough to hold his ground, despite having to discard his now ruined blaster. He spat on the ground, making his sentiments clear. "This doesn't concern you, space wizard. Mind your own business and walk away!"

This thug was a pro, as he no sooner pulled out a second blaster, one which had been concealed in the back of his waistband. Stepping out of striking distance now, the Twi'lek kept his sights trained on the 'Jedi'. He had heard all about their 'tricks'. He wouldn't take any chances now. Neera had similar feelings and tried her best to move out of the line of fire, but kark it all, her body just felt so heavy. What the kriff was a Jedi doing here anyway? Weren't they illegal, or something? And since when did Jedi have red saber swords?

Questions for later. Right now, gotta focus on not dying!

@homewrecker

 

[Kirby von Danderman]

The heroic grin on Kirby's face grew even wider when the other two thugs looked like they were starting to regret their life decisions and were possibly thinking about turning over a new leaf. Good! His plan was worki- Oh for Force sake. He made eye contact with the twi'lekian man, who's blaster was currently a glowing red hot pile of parts of the floor, as he confidently reached around to his back and removed a second blaster from nowhere - like some kind of scary magician.

Kirby nervously adjusted his fingers on his lightsaber hilt and gulped. This was the first time someone had ever had two blasters. Damn this guy was good. He presented Kirby with the option to walk away and he'd be lying if he said he didn't think about it. He'd tried his best and failed, oh well, win some, lose some - but no. That wasn't the Jedi way.

Granted, what he was planning on doing next probably also wasn't the Jedi way but he had made a commitment to helping this young lady and he was going to stick to it. He turned the nervous look at his face into a frown and slowly unignited his lightsaber, the vibrant red light being replaced with the gentle blue hue of an overhead neon sign. His hands were shaking. This was the first time he was going to use this on another person. He hoped it didn't hurt too much... for everyone involved.

Kirby slowly lowered his arms and brought them to his front, palms facing the man as a gesture of surrender. "Okay... easy now... let's just talk about this..." He touched one hand to his wrist and subtly armed the Wrist Repulsor underneath his welding gloves. As soon as he saw the slightest lapse in the man's defensive stance, he'd replant his feet firmly into the ground and thrust his left hand outwards activating the mechanism. "Force Push!" A high pitched humming sound filled the air.

Kirby closed his eyes and clenched his entire body. A repulsor field spilled outwards and although they visibly tried to resist the group of thugs were blasted about 10 metres back, tumbling across the ground. Kirby himself had managed to recreate the stance he'd been using while practising with his wrist repulsor well enough that he only suffered some minor blow back. He had staggered backwards a few feet but managed to keep his footing - and he could feel that his shoulder joint was going to ache in the morning - but that was a problem for future Kirby. Present Kirby had problems of his own right now.

He looked at his hand, and then at the three men who were all groaning on the ground but gradually coming to their senses. "Whoa..." He wished he'd said something clever. Something memorable or funny that would really establish the mood. But he couldn't find the words. He'd really done that. He had heroically blindsided those guys with an attack they couldn't possibly prevent - like a Jedi. He was snapped out of his awestruck state when he realised that the girl he was here to help was still in pain and rushed to her side.

"Here, put your arm over my shoulder, l let me support your weight - we're going to get you some help-' he heard louder groaning and looked up, one of the men was on their hands and knees now and fumbling for their blaster - which had been sent even further down the allyway than they'd been. 'Let's get you some help quickly, because i get that you're in a lot of pain right now but I need to you move because otherwise we're both gonna be in a lot of dead and i don't think either of us want that." He laughed meekly, trying to keep his own freaking out quiet in order not to panic the civilian he was trying to help, but truth be told he was just as petrified as this poor defenceless lady probably was.

With a deep breath, he'd began extending his knees, hoping to help lift the woman to her feet so they could begin their getaway and avoid getting horribly murdered in a filthy back alley by some bloodthirsty thugs.

@HoneyMagpie

 

[Neera Naz-Neen]

Woah was right. One minute, three thugs were staring them down, and then all three were flat on the faces. This guy really was a Jedi, but something seemed off. Why did he seem just as surprised as everyone else? Neera couldn't quite put her finger on it, but then again, she was bleeding out. She'd never even met a Jedi before, so who was she to judge. He seemed willing to help her and that was all that mattered.

She accepted his helping hand without much hesitation. Usually, the Nagai would be more cautious, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Taking the weight off her injured leg, she slowly stood, much of her weight now falling sidewards onto the Jedi. He kept them steady, yet each step was painful at best. Neera wanted to hurry, she really did, but her body was sluggish in its response. It was like walking drunk, minus the buzz but double the pain.

Hot, sticky blood was trailing after them, marking their progress out of the alley. Neera glanced back behind her and saw one of the thugs was about to find his feet. If he caught up to them, they were as good as screwed.

Desperately, she decided to act whilst still partially conscious. Her use of the Force was much less impressive than the 'Jedi'. Originally, she wanted to topple the entire pile of crates and rubbish, but in her weakened state, Neera could only muster enough energy to shift a few. It was enough though; a crate came tumbling directly on top of the twi'lek. Kriff. It wasn't enough to crush him, but it would sure as sith enough to knock the wind out of him.

Honestly, Neera didn't much about this whole Force thing. Sometimes it worked for her and sometimes it didn't. Usually, it all came down to sheer dumb luck, being unreliable even at the best of times. It was because of this the Nagai tried not to rely on it too much. She had other skills, ones that never failed.

"Over there..." She groaned, gesturing to a nearby stationery speeder. With practised ease, and albeit clumsy fingers, Neera hotwired the hovercraft in less than a minute. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was better than nothing.

Taking the position in the rear, Neera motioned for the Jedi to take the centre seat. In her current state, she'd likely crash the damn thing. "You drive...Outlander club. Someone there...owes me...a favour."

Ah, kriffing.

Seeing spots, Neera then passed out.

@homewrecker

 

[Kirby von Danderman]

Kirby froze for a moment when he saw the woman influence the world through The Force. He'd never seen someone use it in real life before but here she was, throwing boxes around with nothing but her own will. So if she could use The Force did that mean that she was a Jedi too? Kirby's throat filled with an anxious lump, which he quickly swallowed. Was she going to be mad at him if she found out the truth? It didn't matter, at the end of the day she needed help and it was the Jedi way to help her, consequences be damned. She'd understand, especially if she was one herself.

Kirby and the woman limped in tandem out of the allyway where she must've used her Jedi connection to the Force to sense the presence of a nearby speeder. Rushing over to it Kirby poured the woman into the Speeder's seat where she used some sort of Force technique Kirby had never heard of to- oh wait no, she was just hotwiring it. She was definitely resourceful. The machine roared to life just as the woman faded into unconsciousness as she muttered some instructions.

Kirby sat in the front seat of the speeder and readjusted his goggles. He hesitated. This was stealing! Were they really going to steal this person's speeder? That's illegal! Surely there had to be another way, stealing from someone isn't the right thing to do - what if they needed this speeder to get to work or something - there had to be something else they could- Kirby's worried thoughts were interupted as a bright red blaster bolt hit the wall beside them causing him to let out a short yelp and sending sparks cascading down over the pair.

On second thoughts, whoever owns it will probably be fine - they'll get over it! - it wasn't stealing he was just gonna borrow it!

Looking over his shoulder he saw one of the thugs leaning against the entrance to the allyway, holding their ribcage with a blaster clutched loosely in their hand. They looked mad. Or they were just in pain. It was probably both.

Bringing his hands down to the handles, he twisted one of them which caused the engine to let out a deep, satisfying growl. It's engine began filling with fuel and the speeder lifted a few feet off the ground. Kirby loved speeders, they were one of the first things he ever learned to fly, often driving the ones his father had repaired around their scrapyard. Turning the controls, the speeder began to do donuts before it straightened out, directly in line with the thug standing in the allyway.

He lowered his gaze and focused - a grin slowly spreading back across his face.

"Here... we... go!"

Kirby revved the engine a few more times, like a dog growling before it bites. He clutched the accelerator and sent the speeder flying towards the thug, who attempted to raise his blaster one more time but before he could he was knocked aside by the large metal speeder, impacting the wall the with groan. Kirby piloted it through the allyway, the adrenaline pumping through his veins allowing him to swerve to avoid debris and to fit through the tight corridor like allyway.

As they approached the Twi'Lekian thug who was only just getting onto his knees again after being flattened by the box, Kirby stuck his foot out and kicked his shoulder causing the man to fall back down while he let out a loud series of angry and pained swear words.

Their speeder blasted out the other end of the allyway and onto the main streets of Coruscants undercity. Traffic swerved to avoid their sudden arrival onto the roads but after a short adjustment period Kirby finally found rhythm and began making steady progress towards their destination.

"Outlander club.... okay.... we can do this, we've got this!" Kirby said outloud, mainly to himself.

He wondered why there of all places. He'd never been inside but could tell from just the look of the place that he didn't like it. Was that were the Jedi who'd remained behind were hiding? It would be a good place to do so, as it's the last place anyone would look for a Jedi. It's more suited for criminals and other lowlifes to get up to nefarious deeds.

Kirby took a turn onto the road towards the nightclub, his completely innocent companion safely in tow.

@HoneyMagpie