A Walk Around Theed

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

The night sky was clear and the streets of Theed were quiet. It wasn't late, but it was late enough for her father to get rageing mad at her for leaving the house. At this point, Ariesa didn't care. She had gotten into an argument with him earlier and really didn't want to deal with him right now. So, she snuck out. It was relativly easy to do. It isn't like her father locked her window. She timed it perfectly. At the moment, her father was downstairs, watching the news on the view screan and her mother was playing the piano in the ball room. Such a great thing to have rich parents.

Arie slipped her window open and walked out on her balcony. She grabbed ahold of the branch that shaded her balcony during the day and slid into the tree. She had been in dance and gymnastic's classes for years and, compared to those, this was easy. She quickly made her way to the trunk and hopped from branch to branch until she was low enough to the ground to be able to jump down. And with that, she was free.

Ariesa walked down the street, confidently, looking around at the lights and stars. It was relativly quiet. There was no "race" going on to distract the Cops so there was no noise from that. And the cops were not going to pull her over just for walking the streets. There was a club just a little ways up the street that she and some of her friends from school hung out at. She slipped in there to see if anyone she knew was there.

[Kale]

Naboo. Kale had never thought he’d find himself on Naboo.

Up until two days ago, he’d considered blue sky and green foliage rare sights outside of travel posters, and he could count on the fingers of one hand the times he’d felt the sun on his face in the last year. And even though he was in the heart of the city of Theed, there were so many gardens and arbors all around him that he felt like he’d wandered into a one-hundred-square-mile gazebo.

But as out-of-place as he felt, Kale found he had a knack for blending in. Even when he’d first landed and was ogling the marble buildings like a rubber-necked tourist, nobody had seemed to pay much attention to him. A scrawny human teen with rusty-colored hair and faded clothes, he had a way of skirting beneath most people's notice. It was a handy talent for someone of his profession.

He was out exploring, still getting his bearings in the city, when he saw her -- Frell! If they'd put her picture on the travel posters, he'd come here a long time ago. First glance told him she was local, and that she was pretty well-off, at least, compared to what he was used to. For someone of Kale's special talents, she made an easy mark. She registered nothing more than an off-angled shadow when he slipped past her.

He waited until she'd disappeared into the club up the street before he took a look at his catch. The leather was still warm -- nerfskin, a good value in itself. The credit inside was decent, too, but he'd just made a pull that afternoon, and he had other ideas for how to use this one. He took a good look at her face on the ID card and grinned.

Kale came bursting into the club a few moments later, flushed and breathing hard as if he'd been running to catch up. Glancing around, he spotted her at the far end of the lobby. "Hey! Hey, miss!"

He threaded his way through the other patrons, drew up beside Arie, and held out her wallet in front of her. "Found this on the sidewalk. Is this yours?"

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Ariesa turned around to look at the guy that was handing her a wallet. It was her wallet from the bag slung over her shoulder. She quickly looked at the bag and found that it was open... But how? It had never come open before. She accepted the wallet from the boy and gave him a quick smile. She opened the wallet to make sure everything was in there. It seemed clear. She never carried Credits on her. Only a card that was connected to her bank account. Something impossibly to use unless her because of the DNA scans that it was programed with.

"Thanks... how did you find it?"

[Kale]

Kale shrugged and returned her smile. "Just lucky, I guess... turned the corner an' saw it there, an' you were the only one on the sidewalk. Hope you don't mind, I peeked at the ID to make sure."

He spoke with a clipped Coruscanti accent, one native to the lower levels. His clothes were simple -- brown T-shirt, a thin jacket, well-worn jeans, and a tattered backpack with signs of multiple repairs. Now that he'd made himself known, he didn't seem quite at home at a club for youth in an upscale neighborhood.

He pulled one hand out of his pocket, offered it, then pulled it back, tugged a glove off of it, and offered his hand again. "Sorry 'bout that. Name's Kale."

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

She takes his hand and shakes it slightly, a soft smile on her lips.

"Ariesa... most call me Arie. You.. arn't from around here, are you?"

She asks him, making note of his accent. The club wasn't really for upper class people but there were alot of the upperclass teens there because it was one of the few clubs that alowed them in.

[Kale]

"That obvious, huh? Nah, I'm from Coruscant. I'm still tryin' to get a feel for this planet."

He glanced around momentarily, scanning the other patrons. It was a fair mix of the local population, almost entirely human, which was something he still wasn't used to. There were no cops in sight, which made him breathe a little easier.

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Arie shrugs.

"When you live in an area for as long as I have, you tend to be able to pick out the locals from the tourists or newbies. Coruscant, huh? Wow, must have been weird to live in a place that is a complete city. I couldn't imagine doing it. I love how open Naboo is, and the forests and such that are around the city."

[Kale]

Kale had seen the forests on his approach -- miles and miles of billowing greenery, ancient trees towering hundreds of feet into the air. They scared him stiff.

"Nothin' like it on Coruscant, that's for sure," he volunteered. "Of course, you can get just about anything else you could want, if you know where to look. This is way quieter than I'm used to. I was startin' to wonder if there's anybody under thirty-five in this town."

Kale had managed to work his way toward the bar, and he leaned casually against an empty stool. He stole a quick, wistful glance at the drink list -- namana-and-rum was probably out of the question.

He turned a disarming smile toward his company. "So, what do you do for fun around here, Arie? There's gotta be somethin'."

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Ariesa looked around and spotted one of her friends out on the dance floor with her boy friend. She smiled and waved to the girl, letting her continue dancing. Her smile remained as she looked back at Kale.

"Well, there is this club, the mall, and.... well..."

Arie debated with herself for half a second, looking the guy up and down. She wondered if she could trust him and, in the end, desided it would be alright.

"There are the underground races."

She speaks in hushed tones now, just loud enough for Kale to hear and no one else.

"Every few weeks, a bunch of the teens will get together in the tunnels just outside of town. None of us like the Empire so we hold races that start down there and go all around Theed. The races are only a distraction though so that another team of us can go and steal things, messing things up, and cause all out chaos for the Empire in the city. You should come sometime."

[Kale]

Kale's interest suddenly racheted up several levels. He'd had bad experiences working with "teams" before, but if these kids were providing free cover for ilicit activities...

"Well, that sounds right up my alley," he said, matching her conspiratorial tone. "All around Theed? What are they racin', Swoops?"

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Arie grins and shakes her head. An idea suddenly comes to her.

"Here, follow me."

She grabs his hand and leads him outside quickly.

Ariesa leads him up several streets and over a few more blocks. She looks around and grabs a data pad out of her back. She flips through it quickly, searching for Jens' address. She finaly finds it and leads him down a few houses before she stops infront of it.

"Jens Vecs. He is possibly the greatest racer we have. I'll have to show you one of the matches I recorded recently of him. He is one of the ones you would be up against. I hope he is awake."

She walks up to the door and presses the button beside it, sending a ring throughout the house. It wasn't terriply late but she wasnt sure how late he stayed up when he wasn't racing.

[Kale]

Piqued, Kale followed her down the street. His little stunt had certainly yielded some unexpected results, and, even though three made a crowd, he was interested in finding out more about what passed as the underworld on Naboo.

And Arie was turning out to be even more fascinating than he'd expected.

[Jens Vec]

I swear I just jumped out of my skin and back into it again. I rub my eyes and swing my legs out of bed. The parents are out, it's just me in the house, and I'm taking advantage by sleeping all day. Doorbell about killed me. I throw on some pants and sling a shirt over my head as I walk to the door, opening it up to find Arie, that cutie from the races, and a ratty-looking guy. I rub my right eye again.

"Sup?"

After a moment of pause, I step aside and gesture them in with a quick tilt of the head.

"Come in. We'll chill. Who's dude?"

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

"Hey Jens. This is Kale. He is new around here."

She slips inside the house, flashing Jens a quick smile. She looks around and sits down on the couch.

"He is interested in the.. uh.." She glances around. "The 'Races'?" She says. She knows that he knows what she is talking about so she leaves it at that.

"He wanted to know what you guys race on. I dont know much about the boards so I brought him to you. He is from Coruscant."

[Kale]

Kale took quick stock of the room -- not too proper, but comfortable, showing signs of Jens's temporary housekeeping. Beat the abandoned hotel Kale had been sneaking into at night.

"Hey." He ticked his head in greeting. "Ran into Arie at the club, an' she told me you guys know how to throw a party."

[Jens Vec]

Races. Party. I mash my palms into my eyes one last time.

"Yeah. The night changes, we don't give ourselves away too easily. Location changes too, but since the city's symmetrical no matter how you look at it, there's not much difference between starting lines and courses."

I wander to the kitchen, which connects to the living room.

"You two want anything?"

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Arie stands up and follows him into the kitchen. She wasn't really that thirsty but she could use some water.

"How about some water."

Once they reach the kitchen she looks around.

"So, how has riding on your board been? Get any jumps like you got the other night?"

[Kale]

"Whatever you've got that's cold," Kale interjected, shrugging off his jacket. Even at night, Naboo was a fair bit warmer than Coruscant.

[Jens Vec]

I decide not to take any chances on drinks. I pour them both some water and get some of my mom's crazy tea for myself. Not sure what she puts in it, but it wakes me up. My addiction is what I get for eating breakfast with her and dad every morning. I take a few sips and answer Arie's question.

"Haven't had the opportunity to go ride anymore. No word on the next race and no time to ride it casually. Did you want me to go show ol' boy the airboard and stuff?"

Hah, "ol' boy". I forgot his name already.

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Arie nods, taking her glass and drinking a bit.

"Thanks."

They both walk back out to Kale.

"So, Kale. You wanted to see what they race around here?"

She nods her head in Jens' direction.

[Kale]

Eh, water. Kale was hoping for something a little harder, but that worked, too.

He took the glass and shrugged. "Lead the way, flyboy."

[Jens Vec]

I shrug and lead them outside, to the fenced-in backyard. We've got a covered porch with some comfortable chairs. I gesture for them to sit if they want and jump down the steps to the grass, crawling under the porch. There's a hole where one of our old pets dug straight down beside the house. Pops covered it with a plank of wood, being too lazy to fill it properly. I lift it up and take my airboard out, crawling back into the open and dusting myself off as I go back under the porch.

"Air board. Lightweight, good for tricks. We usually just call it a board or plank."

I let it go and it hovers just off the ground between the three of us.

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Ariesa smiles, remembering last time she saw Jens on his board and the jump that he made during the race. Her smiles grows a bit wider as she thinks about it.

"Jens is amazing on this thing. At the last race, he jumped the Museum and ended up on the roof. It was awsome."

[Kale]

Hoverboards. They had 'em on Coruscant, of course. Kale had seen races, but he'd never had the opportunity to try one.

He nodded appreciatively. "Not bad. You get the cops' attention with these things?"

[Jens Vec]

"Oh hell yeah," I answer, with that maniac expression that sends mom running for her heart medication. "That's the whole point. We use these little boards instead of the standard hoverboards because the potential of high jumps and stunts seems to make us more priority than a simple speeding charge."

I sit down on the floor and sigh, taking a long drink.

"Unfortunately, our actions have made these nearly illegal. All the participants have theirs hidden, like I do."

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Arie just sits back, letting the boys talk. She looks up at the sky, watching the stars. She loved watching the races but talking about it all the time tended to bore her a bit. But she understood that boys had to be boys so she let them talk, letting her mind wander to other things...

[Kale]

Kale nodded. "Where do you get 'em, then?"

[Jens Vec]

"Most of us owned them before the racing began. Since having them is such a big deal to the local authorities, they sell for steep prices and few stores are carrying them anymore, at least here. The result is most of us are riding outmoded planks. Mine's been almost obsolete for nearly half a year now."

[Kale]

Well, steep prices ruled out acquiring one legitimately. That had never stopped Kale before, though.

"So, you ride for thrills, and to draw off the cops... then what? You're drawin' the attention of the law, that means their attention's off somewhere else, right?"

[Jens Vec]

"We've managed to successfully raid storehouses where Imperial troops keep their rations and ammunition. We move them to other drop points where we believe Naboo's rebellion is picking them up while the riders draw the authorities."

I shrug and finish off my glass.

"We're not sure if it's being picked up by Rebels, Imps, or regular Nubian citizens. If it's Rebels or citizens, good. If it's Imps...well, it gives us something to do at night."

[Kale]

Kale wrinkled his nose momentarily. Rations and ammunition weren't his cup of tea -- a lot more dangerous to fence. He didn't like working for free.

But if they could draw the law off of storehouses, they could draw them off anything. Which still meant a potential feeding frenzy for someone like Kale.

"I've got no love for the Imps, I can tell you that," Kale said, tapping the board and watching it waver. "That sounds like somethin' to do. How hard is it to learn to ride one of these things?"

[Jens Vec]

I stand and mount the plank with a backflip, letting it slide out of the porch and into the yard.

"Depends on your sense of balance," I answer. I do another flip on the board and land without wobbling, then heel it over in a tight turn, leaning over it to maintain balance as it tries to go horizontal. "Also depends on your reflexes. These are a bit slower than the standard hoverboards, but they still move as fast or faster than most speeders. Speed's key to doing the big tricks, after all."

I jump, letting the board rotate on it's long axis before landing on it again.

"The basics won't be too steep a learning curve, though doing tricks will be much harder."

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

Ariesa's eyes drifted to Jens as he hopped on his hoverboard. She smiles as she watches him show off and takes another drink of water. She listens to him explaining the fine points of how to ride a hoverboard.

"All in balance huh?"

She thinks to herself about this. She had been a dancer and a gymnest most of her life. Her balance was better than most of the other kids in her classes so maybe she could ride a board... but she didn't really want to risk it.

[Kale]

Kale indulged in a secretive smirk. In terms of reflexes and instincts, he had a distinct advantage over the average human, though that was information he wasn't going to volunteer just yet.

"Impressive," he allowed. "I'm not lookin' to do anything too fancy. But the speed, and the maneuverability..." He nodded thoughtfully.

"So, when's the next race?"

[Jens Vec]

I get off the plank and kick it under the porch. I'll retrieve it again later if they want to practice.

"No idea. Probably in a day or two. Depends on how long it takes for them to find a place to raid on. Once they find it, we get called to the tunnel furthest from that place, and the race starts."

[Ariesa d'Veldrin]

"Speaking of which, am I going to see you before the race? Or will there be a huge croud around you, talking about your latest legendary story or what not?"

She smirks as she jokes about it. She knows he is going to be rather busy before the race but that didn't stop her from wanting to see him and wish him good luck before it starts.

[Kale]

Kale's eyes flickered between the two. Krasst... figured she'd be taken.

[Jens Vec]

"Yeah, probably. I tend to hide towards the back of the tunnel until it starts; the crowd really pisses me off before the race. No room to stretch or focus in a big crowd."

I run one hand through my hair, trying to think of anything else to say about the races.

"Um, otherwise just keep this stuff under your hats, and put in a metric ton of practice before you even think about racing. It's rougher than a rancor's hindquarters to try and compete with cops and stormies gunning for you."

[Kale]

Kale laughed. "I'll call this round practice. Just tell your buddies to go easy on me until I get the hang of it. Say, uh..."

He glanced around the neighborhood. It was starting to get late, and Kale wasn't looking forward to the walk back to that abandoned hotel where he'd been sleeping.

"Either of you know anywhere I could crash for the night? I've only been here two days, and you're the only two I know."

[Jens Vec]

"If you don't mind an early wake-up call, you can stay here. The parents will be back at 8, so you need to move it before then."