Ask Flashpoint The Ups and Downs

[Zash]

Zash was having the time of his life as as Sith. Even if he periodically got sent into active war zones or forced to do dumb "recon" missions, it was a world better than what he'd been doing in the Lower City. And when he wasn't on missions he lived like a comparative king. Of course, his standards for how a king lived and other people's weren't the same, but that wasn't the point.

Someone higher up had given him a job to track a local politician in preparation for a more precision strike, so that's what he'd been doing. The downside to being a Sith was that holy crap there was a lot of sitting around doing nothing. He had decided within 30 minutes of the assignment starting that he hated recon missions, but he was stuck.

He'd started counting the number of people going by on the streets and making up stories to go along with where they were going. Then he'd pulled out his datapad and scrolled through Spreddit. Then he'd played some Qwent. Now he was about to die of boredom and it had only been about 3 hours.

He groaned in the back of his throat as he literally watched the seconds tick by on the wall chrono of the restaurant he'd been waiting out at. Surely this guy wasn't going to be coming out anytime soon. Maybe Zash could just... take a nap? Or something...

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil was also there, sitting by a window seat, near Zash. His sketchbook was in hand, pencil scratching away at the paper to draw what the street looked like. He added interesting-looking people as they passed by, some hurried and others were weirdly calm. Once a group of what were obviously local defense forces passed by, and another time there was a street gang. It was pretty fun and passed the time well enough.

Sure three hours passed, but Sol had like, a lot of pencils and a decent sharpener. Zash wasn't the only one waiting for the politician to show themself, but he was the one of the two who hated it. The silent acolyte was relatively laid-back and patient for a Sith. Plus, he had snacks. Munching on a bit of dried squid and dressed more or less like just another kind of dude people didn't pay him any notice.

Which was great, 'cause the politician in question walked out of a building and right past him on the sidewalk, a couple of plainclothes bodyguards trying to look like ordinary friends walking with him. Sol flipped his sketchbook's page to check the headshot they got and confirmed it was the right guy, then tried to make very direct eye contact with the other acolyte on the job. Should've gotten his number.

The silent acolyte stood up, closed his book, and started walking casually toward the door. He'd already paid for his snacks and bottled Coca-Cola when he got them, so no worries there. Just had to keep a reasonable distance from the old dude in a suit and his thick-limbed shadows.

@Phoenix

 

[Zash]

Zash lit up a smoke and took a deep breath, letting the chemical perfuse his lungs and seep into his bloodstream. It took the edge off of the waiting, helping Zash relax as he sat there watching the people cross the street.

Kriffing finally, he muttered under his breath. Zash did an expert job of not looking like he was watching the politician because he really wasn't. In fact, he had nearly missed the man walking by altogether as he closed his eyes for several moments in boredom. He sat up a little straighter, trying not to look like he had jumped out of his skin that his target was getting away.

He spotted the other Acolyte looking at him and wanted to wave him off, but decided that might be a little too obvious to anyone watching. Oh please, who was watching? Nobody, that was who. Because literally no one cared about this idiot.

He tapped momentarily against the inside of his jacket to feel the lightsaber stashed there. How cool was it to have a lightsaber? Like really, who got a lightsaber?

He stood up from his chair, continuing to smoke as he walked down the street as if taking a casual stroll.

They walked for nearly a half-mile before the mayor turned into a restaurant of his own, getting a table. It was at this point that Zash changed course to pop over near Sol.

Dude, this is so boring. What are we even supposed to be reporting on, his fiber intake? he said quietly.

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil, sadly, didn't actually have a lightsaber yet. Just his vibrodagger hidden behind his jacket and a couple of spare knives in even more hidden places. Mostly he relied on the Force and going unnoticed in the first place. Or at least that was ideal. He did have a training saber in his name, but he wasn't as comfortable with it outside practice.

The walk was... Well, a walk. Folks passed by, politician guy and his buddies kept on going, and Sol did a decent job of being a distant shadow among the crowd. He'd practically spaced out into his task when Zash seemed almost to appear out of nowhere. Sol blinked and turned to look at the taller acolyte, flashing an amused grin after a moment.

He shrugged in a long-suffering sort of way, mimicking a resigned sigh without sound. Sol pulled a torn-off bit of paper from a pocket to show Zash. Listed on it were specific shops and locations the politician had gone to copied from the briefing, with a checkmark next to the one he'd recently walked out of. It was kinda like tracking travel habits, probably.

There was also a doodle of a really derpy bird in the corner. Meanwhile, the politician surreptitiously slipped into another small mom-and-pop-type shop with barely anyone inside it. Sol set himself up across the street again- and immediately noticed a side door open in the shop's adjacent alleyway, a group of three biker-looking dudes slipping inside. The silent acolyte lightly elbowed Zash and gestured toward what was happening.

@Phoenix

 

[Zash]

Zash received no audible reply from the other acolyte, and he just kind of looked at the other guy for a long moment, glancing down at the list of shops and a random bird on the paper.

Yeah, good talk, he said, taking another puff of his smoke. He was about to start wandering down the street to get a better look into the shop when he felt an elbow against his arm. His eyes flashed over toward the trio and then back toward their bikes.

Granted, speeder bikers weren't really that much of a problem. Ninety-nine percent of them were just regular guys who liked to ride, but in Denon the number of bikers who had been causing problems was increasing. Or rather the problem people were more active these days.

Zash watched for a long moment before dropping his smoke down, grinding it under his boot into the sidewalk.

Keep your eyes open, he said, crossing over to the other side to get a better view of what was going on. So far, there wasn't trouble, but something tingled on the back of Zash's neck.

He stepped back, heading over to search through the bags on the bike for anything of note or any clues that might give them a little more information.

@Mr. Teatime