Rodia: Cheating Fate

[Jeseth Cloak]

"Mind your surroundings," Jeseth said, tucking his torn and tattered Jedi robe into a compartment deep inside the cabin of his old Theta-class shuttle. "People in this city would sell their soul for a credit, and yours for less." He pulled his shirt up over his head, removing and then stuffing it inside of the same compartment that held his robe. His bare back was muscular and fair. Two slender scars ran along the sides of his spine, just along the length of his shoulder blades; they were silent reminders of the past, and of what he had lost.

His hands searched through the maw of garments that littered the recesses of his shuttle. He finally managed to find something less conspicuous than his Jedi attire: a well worn black shirt. He slipped it on, then picked up both of his lightsabers from the bench on which they sat and tucked them into his pant pockets before heading for the shuttle's entry hatch. "I'll wait for you outside."

Jeseth had come to Rodia in the hopes that he might find one of the Vigos of the Black Sun - the only problem was, he wasn't sure where to begin looking. If my instincts serve me well, he thought quietly, then there's no better place to start... than a cantina.

[Sirus Blackjack]

Sirus sat hunched at the bar of "The Royal Flush", a pretty average cantina with a smokey casino around the back. He wore a plain suit; black trousers, white shirt, blaster holstered by his right armpit under his jacket. Regular attire for the Black Sun employee.

Work had been thin for a good while now, and Sirus could only be thankful he had no rent to pay, thanks to Kasajian. He'd spent much of the past weeks in his private suite, reading, watching holovids and working out. He left only for drinks, gambling, driving his beautiful, classic speeder and practicing at the blaster range.

His trip out tonight was for drinking, as well as keeping an ear out for anyone wanting business with the syndicate. Cantina's were usually a sure-fire place to catch wind of such things. Blackjack was used to turning people away by now, not worthy, or trustworthy enough to enter into dealings with the group.

His drink arrived, brought over by a young waitress from behind the bar. Sirus tipped her and sipped at his whiskey, ready for a night he wouldn't remeber the next morning.

[Cade Mercer]

Onboard the Penance

Cade had grown very quiet as the two had left Naboo. On the trip to Rodia, she had continued to remain quiet. She had withdrawn within herself, thinking back on the memories that had suddenly resurfaced in her mind. Jeseth had often found her within the sleeping quarters, stareing at her lightsaber, held cautiously in her hand like it was a snake. Her weapon that she had created with him and that had been her companion as a jedi now seemed a foriegn as the planet they were headed to.

It had become rather apparent to Jeseth that she was no longer used to useing a weapon in a fight. When she was not stareing at her lightsaber, she was found in the practicly empty cargo area training in the martial arts she had come to know over these long years. Any time she noticed him watching, she would stop, though, and move back to the sleeping quarters as if she had done something wrong.

On Rodia

She sat looking at the ground as he dressed, occasionally dareing a glance up at him as he spoke. She had barely said a word to him sense they had boarded his ship and only answered his questions in short answers, if she could get away with it, then nothing more then a noise. Once he had left the ship, she quickly dressed in black pants and tank with a black jacket and hood. She glanced at where she had placed her lightsaber and hesitated in picking it up. When she finally did so, she quickly placed it in a shoulder pack she swung onto her back.

Following after Jeseth, she ran a hand through her short blonde hair before pulling her hood up. Her eyes remained on the ground and she didn't say a word as they walked. It did not take them long to find their destination. A cantina and casino. Her eyes scanned over it quickly before looking back at the ground. She quietly walked inside and followed Jeseth closely as they walked over to sit at the bar.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth's eyes moved about the dimly lit room, scanning the crowd. Loud music and the rattling of ice-cubes made it impossible to pick up on other people's conversation. He put a hand on Cade's shoulder, grabbing her attention. "I thought we'd just find someone that looked unsavory," he told her, "but they all look unsavory."

"Can I help you?" The bartender was leering at the two, a hint of annoyance obvious in his tone. "You've been here for almost three minutes. Order something or get out!"

"Fine," Jeseth snapped, tossing a few credits on the bar, "just get us something to drink - we don't care what." He didn't have any intention of poisoning his body. Not today.

"Hey," growled a short pest-of-an-alien, grabbing Cade's wrist to draw her gaze down at him, "how much?"

Jeseth's crimson eyes narrowed at the thing. "Get lost."

"I don't remember asking you anything," the alien said mockingly to Jeseth, then squeezed Cade's hand and turned back to her. "Well? I can be very generous..."

[Cade Mercer]

Cade had begun to stare off into space. Her mind had wandered back to the academy and the night when the attack happened. The images of what she had seen flashed through her mind quickly. The blaster shots and the battle she and her master's sister had fought against the clone troopers.

She felt the weight of Jeseth's hand on her shoulder and barely turned her head in the direction, hardly acknowledging that she had heard him. Her mind instantly snapped back to the battle. She remembered one of the younger padawans there, scared and trembling, holding onto her hand. Suddenly, it was like she actually felt the child holding onto her.

Cade's eyes focused and she looked down at her hand confused, expecting to see one of the padawans there. But no, instead it was some wretch of an alien, as small as one of the young padawans would be, asking her how much? Her mind finally caught up with her senses and she blinked a few times, looking confused, her eyes dodges back and forth from Jeseth to this small alien creature.

[Jeseth Cloak]

The little alien fell to the floor, clutching his throat and gurgling loudly. He was gasping for air, denied of breath by an unseen Force, and grabbed onto a passerby's leg in a plea for help. The patrons sitting nearby Jeseth and Cade turned to watch in silence as the little man stopped moving, his leg giving out a final twitch. "Ugnaughts disgust me," Jeseth said, turning to look at Cade, who was clearly shocked at his actions. The music had stopped.

"It's no better than he deserved for talking with his mouth full," Jeseth said, giving the establishment enough reason to resume its bustle. The musicians resumed their melody. The bartender had just set down two frothing drinks on the bar when Jeseth snatched his wrist. "I'm looking for someone."

"What kind of someone," the Human replied, raising one of gritty brows.

"A Vigo."

The bartender jerked his hand away looking past Jeseth with wide eyes. He was focusing his worried gaze on a man at the back of the catina. "I don't want any trouble."

"Surely," Jeseth said, swiveling around in his chair to get a look at Sirus, "there will be no trouble. Send the man a second drink, compliments of myself and the young woman."

[Cade Mercer]

Cade stared at the body of the small alien. Slowly, her eyes raised to Jeseth, a bit shocked that he would do that. She quickly turned her eyes away so as to not bring attention to this. It would have to be something they discussed back at the ship. She ignored the drink placed before her and grasped her hands together under the bar to try to keep them from shaking.

She barely listened to what Jeseth said to the barkeep. But when he motioned Jeseth over towards the man in the back, she raised her eyes to look at him. her eyes remained, stareing at the man, almost unaware of anything else around her.

[Sirus Blackjack]

Engrossed in his drink and his own thoughts, Sirus had been oblivious to what was going on around him, until such time as the word "Vigo" sprang up from nowhere. His interest sparked, he turned to the two new faces, looking them over.

"And what would a couple of sprites like you be wanting with a Vigo?" he asked as the second whiskey came to him, lifting it towards the young man as he spoke.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth nodded at the man and took Cade's hand, pulling her with him to Sirus' side. Although the former Jedi would soon be seventy-three years old, it wasn't apparent that he was any older than a Human of twenty-seven. "We're in need of new names - the sort that don't attract Imperial attention."

The crimson-eyed alien squeezed his female partner's hand. "We're looking to start a new life, you could say. My name is..." the Dark Jedi said as he hesitated briefly before finishing his sentence, "Jes." His pale hand came out to Sirus.

[Sirus Blackjack]

"Interesting" Sirus replied in his husky tone, his hand moving out to give Jeseth's a firm shake.

"What's your story then? You running?" he inquired.

[Cade Mercer]

Cade's mind suddenly seemed to turn on, as if someone had flicked on the lightswitch. Her eyes searched over the man before she turned her gaze apon Jeseth. She, as if by nature, wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close to her. She looked up at him as if he ment everything to her. She turned a teary eye back to the man before her.

"Yes... I carry a child. Our familys forbid us from a union and demanded I abandon the child before it was too late. I refused and now we are running from our families. They have connections that could alert them of where we go if we use our true identities."

A forced, but convincing, tear dripped down her cheek as she gave the man a pleeding look.

"Please... can you help us?"

[Sorsha Kasajian]

"It's a touching story." Sorsha spoke behind her. "Should I believe it?"

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth exhaled a sigh and closed his eyes briefly, stretching out through the Force. The woman's mind was far from weak, and it was unlikely that mind tricks would have any affect on her. Much the same could be said of the unnamed man who sat with him, too. "Is she a friend of yours?" Jeseth asked Sirus before turning to get his first look at Sorsha.

[Sirus Blackjack]

Sirus let out a throaty laugh.

"You could say that" he chuckled into his glass, taking another sip.

[Jeseth Cloak]

"Very well." The Dark Jedi took a deep breath and considered his next words carefully. "We've run into trouble with the Empire. The kind of trouble that makes it impossible to know who you can really trust."

[Sirus Blackjack]

"It's always impossible to know who you can truly trust" Sirus said bluntly, propping an elbow up on the bar. "There's never an exception. But tell us more, pal. Doors might open."

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: Sorsha played along for now, waiting to see where things would go ::

[Jeseth Cloak]

Doors might open. Jeseth just feared that those doors would lead directly to a detention center. He knew full well what the Empire was offering for his capture. It was a sum that eclipsed most people's lifetime earnings. He had to be very careful, and make no mention of his past. Hopefully, his youthful appearance would work to his advantage. "We've been tried en absentia by the Empire, and found guilty of high treason. We won't be allowed an appeal, and they've issued a sizable bounty on our heads." he told Sirus in a very hushed tone, leaning in closer.

Jeseth felt like he was playing a dangerous game, and slipped a hand into his pocket casually. His fingers gripped the dormant lightsaber that waited there. He wanted to be ready to cut and run if things went sour.

[Sirus Blackjack]

Sirus nodded approvingly, giving a quick glance at Sorsha before returning his gaze to Jeseth.

"Interesting. Upsetting the Empire can be a hazardous past time. I believe there are ways and means of getting on, provided you play the game right. Isn't that right?" he said, directing the question a Sorsha.

[Sorsha Kasajian]

"Yes." she replied, observing every line on Jeseth's face. "If you would be so kind, keep both hands on the table. As a show of good faith."

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth slowly took his hand out of his pocket, folded his arms together on the table with a nod. He glanced at Sorsha, then back at Cade. "Maybe you should go wait in the ship."

Cade gave a nod of acknowledgment, and then got up to leave with one last glance over her shoulder. Jeseth looked back at Sirus. "I can't pay in credits." he admitted to the Human. Most of his liquid assets had been frozen for decades. "But I do have something that the Black Sun might desire more than just credits." he added. "I'd like to show it to you, but that would mean that I'd have to reach into my pocket. May I?"

[Sorsha Kasajian]

:: Sorsha raised a hand to prevent the girl from ::

"Sit please."

:: She turned to Jeseth ::

"Tell me what it is."

[Cade Mercer]

Cade frowns at the woman then looks back at Jeseth, unsure of what to do. Something seems different in her eyes as she looks at Jeseth. Only he can tell because he had known her so long. It was fear. Something in the room had scared her. She bites the inside of her lip and walks back over to where Jeseth is, sitting back down and looking at her hands in her lap.