The Only One

[Marcus QDunn]

<font color=red>
Life House - Only One

she's got a pretty smile
it covers up the poison that she hides
she walks around in circles in my head
waiting for a chance to break me chance to take me down
now I see the burden you gave me
is too much to carry too much to bury inside

I guess you're the only one that nobody changes
I guess you're the only one left standing
when everything else goes down
you're still the only one
yeah you're still the only one

it's all shallow and all so appealing now
I'm up to my ankles and I'm drowning anyway
in a sea of sarcastic faces familiar places
everything looks quite the same here
it's all confusingly amusing
bitter and tainted the picture you painted to me

I guess you're the only one that nobody changes
I guess you're the only one left standing
when everything else goes down
you're still the only one who will never change faces
I guess you're the only one left standing
when everything else goes down

just 'cause it's all in your head
doesn't mean it has to be in mine
don't believe what you said
still can't get it out of my mind

I've tried to find myself in approval
I've already been there already done that
it got me nowhere it brought me nothing
but a good place to hide in no one to confide in now

I guess you're the only one that nobody changes
I guess you're the only one that will never change faces
I guess you're the only one</font>








:: A lone Jedi sits in his private booth. staring into his plate of food, not touching a single bite::

[Arya Ravenwing]

Walking into the bar and grill, Arya didn't expect it to be so clean. Not that it was spotless, it was just...different. She also hadn't thought that she would be here on Arcan IV again so soon. She needed a rest, and the planet was here. Plus, with the NR influence in the system, the riffraff had gone underground.

Arya grimaced. She was part of the riffraff. No matter. She sauntered to the bar and ordered a Guiness, her blaster strapped visibly to her thigh.

[Marcus QDunn]

:: He really wasn't paying any attention to what was going on around him, but a muffled curse next to him drew his attention. A clink of a glass being dropped. He turned to see it was only a drunk, then began to turn away...

At the corner of his eye, he caught sight of someone, familiar. It took him some time to remember, but when he did, he instinctively ducked his back into his booth. Her! What was she doing here?!?! She said she was going to Niko for a run....

Great. Just what he needed right now.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya drank the ale, and then ordered another one, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Her mind's eye was open, and aware of her surroundings. As she drank more, however, she knew it would become unpredicatable in its helpfulness.

She accepted her refilled drink from the 'tender, and was stopped by a hairy hand on hers. "Let me buy that for you." The voice belonged to an unsavory looking character, human, or mainly so, with ape-like features...right down to the huge, hairy-knuckled hands.

Arya grimaced. "No." She pulled her drink and her hand away from him.

He pressed against her side, breathing heavily down her neck. "You don't seem to understand." His hand grabbed hers again. Arya dropped her left hand to her blaster, drew it and pressed it into his ribs.

"I think you are the one who doesn't understand."

[Marcus QDunn]

:: Q'Dunn decided to keep his head low - he really wasnt feeling like being recognised, not now. But a sudden scuffle, some raised voices, drew his atention away from his uneaten meal to what was going on. He didnt take long to size it up and when he did, he swore quietly. Damn idiot.....

The Jedi was about to allow one of the other NRSF soldiers deal with the situation... but as he looked around, he noticed something odd. There wasn't any. Surprised, his hand snaked it's way to the Rail Gun on his hip. What the hell was going on? This was most unlike the guards to all be away. Thence he would have to deal with the disturbance.

Getting up, he moved quietly until he had moved behind the male, raising his gun.

"Hands off @#%$"

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya's eyes widened as she recognized the voice behind her. The huge humanoid who was on the other end of her blaster stiffened even more at the interruption. She gave him a good jab with the barrel of the blaster and slipped it back into her holster, her actions hidden by the bulk of the man. It was a mistake to get rid of it.

He ran his hand up her arm and grasped her by the back of the neck, pulling her to him. "Just wanna have a little fun, missy..." Arya was yanked half off her barstool, face first into his sweaty chest. Her leg got tangled in the stool, and she tried to grab her blaster again as the man pulled at her hair.

[Marcus QDunn]

:: The bloody beast moved fast... too fast for even him. Somewhat surprised, he blinked, mentally adjusted, then pointed the Rail Gun right between the eyes of the alien.

"You have five seconds before she really hurts you. Take my advice, if she gets hold you, you're gunna wish I had shorted you by a head"

Typical. Bozo's see a pretty wmoan and they want to have fun. For effect, he lowered the gun down, giving the alien a positively evil smile

[Arya Ravenwing]

He smelled absolutely horrible. Arya mumbled something about showering underneath Tohmahawk's threats, and the humanoid seemed to deliberate between which one to listen to. The rail gun won out. His second mistake. The first had been hitting on Arya.

She had her arms against his torso for support, and she now threw her arms around him, her foot still caught up in the stool. At the same time, she stuck her other foot into the stool, and knocked it to the ground with a crash. A quick movement, and the stool flew underneath her and smacked into the shins of the male holding her. He roared in sudden pain, and released her head.

Arya stepped back, kicked the stool up to her hands, and broke it over the humanoid's head, sending him crumpling to the ground. She turned to Tohmahawk. "Didn't expect to see you here." Arya looked back at the bar for her mug of ale.

[Marcus QDunn]

Hell. She was even faster wiping the alien out than he expected. He reholstered the Rail Gun.

"It's my job to make sure silly buggers dont go on here. After all, you are in the middle of a NR base that is under my command. Now if you dont mind, place the gun to one side. The rules dont get bent, even for you"

[Arya Ravenwing]

She rolled her eyes dramatically, unbuckling her holster, and untying it from her black leather thigh. Looking around, she folded it up and handed it to Tohmahawk. "Fine. But if I don't get that back, I know who to kill." Arya winked at him, drinking her second Guiness, and kicking the lump of groaning flesh next to her. A bouncer arrived to drag the humanoid male away.

Arya sat on another bar stool. "Under your command, huh? Frell, I keep forgetting you're a General." She slammed her drink to the bar, empty again. "Nothing like a fight to stir up the appetite." She flicked her hand to the 'tender, who gave her another refill.

[Marcus QDunn]

:: Marcus glanced at the holster in his hand.

"Yeah well.... it's not like you have something better now than this pop gun, is it? Yeah, this is my command. Whole damn planet is under my command, like a few others now. I''m becoming a busy man." The last was said in a resigned, even bitter tone. "Her drinks on the house, Swatz"

With thatr, he turned around to move back to his booth. To bne honest, he would rather not be near Ravenwing. At least, not now. Things had happened at Trogan that still were deeply uncommfortable for him.

[Arya Ravenwing]

"Hey." Arya reached out and grabbed his arm as he turned to go. "Thanks."

There was a flash of..something..in his eyes, and she let go of his arm, as if it burned her. "For what?"

She indicated her third refill. "The drinks. Frell, what did you think? Thanks for the good time on Trogan? Krasst." Arya turned away and stared at the dark ale in her mug. Just being this close to him again was electifying. She felt like a glit biter...needing to be near him to get another hit just to make it through the day.

She had been on her way to Riko, picking up mining supplies to transport to an undisclosed location. It had not been an accident that brought her back to Arcan IV. It had been...hope? Arya scowled at her drink.

[Marcus QDunn]

"Hey." Arya reached out and grabbed his arm as he turned to go. "Thanks."

There was a flash of..something..in his eyes, and she let go of his arm, as if it burned her. "For what?"

She indicated her third refill. "The drinks. Frell, what did you think? Thanks for the good time on Trogan? Krasst." Arya turned away and stared at the dark ale in her mug, while Q’Dunn just stood there, not knowing what to do. Something completely unlike him. He was a man of action, of decisiveness, of strong emotions. But there was simply something about Arya that just left him flat footed. It was almost hard to think even being around her. Well, he could talk while he figured out what next

“Well, what’s there to say thanks for? It’s not like much happened there…. Right?”

She turned to look at him and the Jedi could see that in her eyes and the look of hurt in them, he was wrong. Very very wrong.

“Umm… errr….look….. ah frell. Look, I’m having some dinner over there.. Would you mind joining me?”

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya looked back to her Guiness as Tohmahawk backpedaled. Or, Marcus. Whoever he was. She swiveled on the stool and jumped down to her feet, her drink in hand. "I'm not really hungry. Mind if I just drink?" She looked around with her third eye, noticing that the edges of her mindvision were blurring. She looked down at her drink again.

"On second thought, perhaps I should eat a bit." She looked straight at him, not dodging his eyes, and raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a table? Or are we going to eat standing here?"

His comment about Trogan had hurt. It was difficult to admit that, even to herself. After Aaron, she... Arya blinked. Why bring up the past? She'd been living with his ghost for so long, it was not unusual for her to remember him. But as she thought about it, she hadn't had a dream about him since Trogan.

[Captain Tohmahawk]

“Yes, I have a table. Over in the corner”

He waited for her to move first, before following. She took her place on the other side, he sat back down where his barely touched meal stood. It was still warm, as the plates used here had their own heating units, with compensators to stop a meal from drying out. You could leave food out for hours before it deteriorated in taste which, considering his lack of appetite lately, was a good thing. Right now, he was trying to stomach an evil looking bunch of seafood, which actually tasted superb if you gave it half a chance. A grilled set of tentacles mainly. As he sat down, he picked up the fork, spearing a tentacle, raising to his mouth and taking a bite. Swallowing, Marcus pointed to the menu Ravenwing now had in her hand.

“Hope your not vegetarian. This place don’t cater to them very well. On the other hand, you like real food, I employed a Shambler as the chef here who can do incredible things to a steak. We also have a lunatic whose kitchen is declared a disaster area, but does amazing things with exotic spices. The diced dewback stew is a real experience if you like something with a bite”. He lapsed into silence, taking another bite of the tentacle. To be honest, he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep either lately. He wasn’t a big sleeper anyway, his species typically went up to three days without a brief rest, sometimes weeks without a proper sleep, then would almost go comatose for a few days on end. Q’Dunn was two weeks beyond the normal time for the coma and it was beginning to really affect him. Even Jedi hibernation couldn’t really make up for the lack of natural sleep in the end.

Probably he didn’t want the dreams again. Ever since he had been forced to reclaim being a Jedi, the years of hiding from his past had been catching up with him, especially his long dead wife. Trogan had made it worse.

And the reason was sitting across from him. Arya was blackhaired, not sexy, although the leather she wore was tight enough to give even strong willed men ideas, tough and harsh, but still, beautiful. Also, she could fight like hardly anything he had ever seen.

It was the hardly ever bit that bought back the memories. He knew another woman who could take apart attackers with the same ease and speed…. Marcus palced the fork onto the plate, then palced his head in his hands, covering his face.


Oh Helenais….. Why?

[Arya Ravenwing]

The black haired woman looked up just as the waitress walked up. Tohmahawk buried his face in his hands, a wave of distress hitting Arya like a brick. She blinked, and the waitress looked bored, a datapad ready to take her order.

"Uh, I'll have the dewback stew?" She studied the menu another second. "And a Corellian brandy. Can you refill his tea?" She indicated her companion, his face almost in his tentacle dish. The waitress may-or may not have rolled her eyes, and nodded, turning to fill the order.

Arya tapped Tohmahawk on the top of his head. "You doing all right?" Concern tinted her voice, but not overly. She set the menu down, and then sighed. "What service. Didn't even take the menu. Maybe I can reprogram it to play Twi'leki music." She smiled to herself, remembering the first transmission she'd sent to Tohmahawk. It had a security protocol sliced in that played a highly suggestive Twi'leki pornographic holo. The thought of a menu playing the background music to that made her laugh.

[Captain Tohmahawk]

He let his head lift in response to Arya's tap.

"I'm sorry... seeing you reminded me of someone"

"Who?" She sounded curious

"My wife"

[Arya Ravenwing]

She sat back from him, her blue eyes unflinching. "Your wife? You have a wife?" Arya took the menu in her hands, and toyed with it while she spoke. "You know, that information might have come in handy...a week or two ago!" Her voice didn't raise above a comfortable conversation level, but the menu broke in half in her hands, the electronic innards sparking as she dropped in on the table.

"You know what?" She had no words. A wife? Of all the dispicable, disgusting and low - He reached out to her, not touching, but stopping her train of thought.

[Captain Tohmahawk]

"I'm sorry"

"YOUR SORRY?!?!"

"Arya! It's not like..."

Her anger was getting quite clear

"It is! Dont you say that to me!"

"SHE'S DEAD ALLRIGHT? YOU HAPPY NOW?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

She paused in mid sentance, her mouth still open. The waitress interrupted with a steaming bowl of something, and the drink. As she reached over to refill his tea, Arya sat back, waiting for the woman to leave them again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. The way you said it, I thought-" She slapped her forehead. "I'm an as$. Krasst, I'm sorry James."

[Captain Tohmahawk]

"Marcus"

"Sorry?"

"The name is Marcus. I might go by Tohmahawk normally, but for people I truly trust... " He reached over and grasped one of her hands, and giving her a sad smile "It's always Marcus. I can count on two hands the number of beings I would trust that much as to tell them whom I really am" He gave her hand a squeeze, then let it drop. "I'll be honest - I'ld rather not ever to have met you. My life is too complex and being near me is too dangerous. It's not just the Sith or the Imperials, there's something a good deal worse. You really want to be anywhere near a man whose enemies killed a planet in an attempt to get him?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

She dug her fork into the stew. "Do you think that bothers me or scares me?" Arya lifted the fork to her mouth, and chewed, then swallowed hastily, grabbing for his tea. "That does have quite a kick to it." She washed it down with a sip, and set his cup back on the table. "When you see the waitress again, flag her down, will you? I'm going to need water for this."

Returning to seriousness, she shook her head. "All things aside, I don't think being around you will put me in anymore danger than I've faced since even before I was born. And I'm glad I met you." Arya knocked her brandy back, and belched, grinning. "Pardon me. I seem to have drank a little too much."

[Marcus QDunn]

“What, drunk too much and only three drinks? Maybe you drank a little bit too fast. Slow down and enjoy them instead. And don’t use water to cool your palate. Use warm tea. Here, like this….” He used his own fork to spear some of her stew, before picking up his cup. Taking a small sip, the Jedi then put the food to his mouth, chewed, then swallowed, followed almost immediately by another sip. “And then you tongue will survive. Hope like hell tho that your -DO-NOT-SWEAR--DO-NOT-SWEAR--DO-NOT-SWEAR--DO-NOT-SWEAR- wont catch fire when it comes out the other end however”. He said it so flat voiced, it took Arya a few seconds to catch what he said. In response, she choked, spluttering for water.

“Your not serious?” she said between gasps

“Absolutly. The translation for that dish is ‘Ring of Fire’, because of what it does”

She stared at him. ”Your having me on”

“No, really! Humans are not recommended to eat that meal. But since no human I know speaks Twi’lek like you do, I presume that you should be fine. No?”

She pretended to be insulted, before spearing more of the meal. “Nah, just a really tough bitch. And what about you? Aren’t you worried your ring will spontaneously ignite?”

Marcus grinned, beginning to eat some of his own meal. “Nope. Wont affect me”

“Yeah? Used to it or bowels made of steel?”

“Not human. Alcohol and spices don’t have the same effects”

“Could have fooled me. You look human to me” she stated.

“Not in the slightest. I’m from the Unknown Regions”

She was becoming interested. “Really? Where?”

“Western spiral arm, about as far out as you can get without leaving the Galaxy. High gravity planet that translated to Basic as ‘Great South Land’. It’s a place of sand, heat and ocean. There’s 6 other planets nearby, all colonies. Every Occka however tries to get back to ‘Land as often as they can, and the rare ones who live elsewhere make sure we all stay used to hi-grav, like me. I make sure I spend a good part of the week in a place with the gravplates turned up to 2.3 G. I want to be able to set foot on home sand one day”

“How long has it been?” she asked, eating away and listening.

“ummm…. Let me think….. After the Clone Wars….. two years…. 57 years”

“Okay, now your kidding. You don’t look over 30”

“109 years, Galactic Standard. I personally witnessed the rise and the fall of the Empire. I’ve seen so many things, it’s a wonder my head don’t explode. What about you?”

She shrugged. “No idea. Bout 25. Mother never told me. We had more important things to worry about on Ryloth, like survival. Believe me, I’ve been living my life just to survive. Your enemies don’t matter, cause they’re no more dangerous that what I’ve lived my life by”

His fork dipped again and to his surprise, it hit plate. He looked and was even puzzled to see that he had eaten the entire meal, unaware, while they had been talking.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya pushed her bowl away, and finished off her fourth mug of Guiness. Having a bit of food inside helped. The fuzziness she had temporarily experienced was gone. Her bowl of stew was still half full, however. "You fascinate me."

What was more interesting was that he truly did. The waitress came with the check, and Arya dug in a pocket for some credits. Marcus reached over to the waitress, pressing a credit chit into her hand. "That should cover it." The waitress checked the amount of the chit, and her eyes widened a little.

"Thank you, sir." She left, taking his empty plate with her.

Arya pushed her bowl to the edge of the table. "You didn't have to pay-" He interrupted her with a look. Arya grinned, "But since you did, I think I'll have dessert. Just kidding."

She settled back into the booth, absently scratching her arm. "Like I said, I don't really know how old I am, and I don't really think that your enemies are worse than my life." Arya sighed. "You know a lot about me already, and I don't know how you know it. I don't know what or where my homeplanet is, and my mother never told me. She was quite insane by the time she died on Ryloth. I never could make heads or tails of what she was trying to tell me."

Arya reached inside her shirt, pulling out the golden medallion she always wore around her neck. "This is the only link I have to my family's past. Do you recognize anything about it? Its my family's royal seal. Or so my mother told me."

[Marcus QDunn]

You facinate me

What a bizarre thing to say. And not something that was easily replied to either. Thankfully, she continued to talk for a bit while he listened. She didnt say much, in fact, she didnt seem to be a woman who talked much anyway. More inclined for action and purpose. Or... maybe she just didnt like talking about herself. Arya did seem to be uncomfortabe when some subjects were borached. Maybe she too had lost someone in the past. Marcus mentally made a note not to pry on that issue. If she wanted to talk, she would.

What she was talking about was pretty interesting anyway. It was rare a human would be bought up on Ryoth and that in iteself would be cause for investigation. The Twi'leks didnt normally allow that. Now she was handing over a amulet of some kind. He accepted it, to look it over.

"well, what I could find on you was scarce. It noted you were of royal decent, but didnt say where. I'ld have almost have thought your records in the databases have been tampered with, like to protect you." He looked over the medallion, sizing it up and running it through his memory.

"Well, I'm no expert in what a Royal seal looks like, but considering what I found, I would say your mother is correct. You appear to be the heir to a throne and this is the identification. Which I guess leads me to the conclusion either your illegitimate and there was a scandal, or your family was unsurped. Actually, considering the place your mother bought you up, I say unsurped. Hmph, you should be ruling something, not sitting here in some rough house bar"

He handed the medallion back

"You ever get curious what you could of had, if indeed your the rightful heir to whatever?"

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya poked at the bowl, inching it closer to the edge of the table. "Do I think about what I could be 'enjoying' right now?" She frowned a little. "No." The waitress returned, filled up Marcus' tea and took the bowl of stew away.

She looked at him with her blue eyes. "I like my life the way it is. I've had it rough, but its made me who I am. Places like these," Arya gestured with her hand while putting her medallion back around her neck, "These places are my heritage now. And I accepted that a long time ago." She gave a half-hearted smile. "As to what I could have? Probably a really big headache. I'd rather be living life than sitting on my ass on a throne."

Settling back against the booth, Arya raised an eyebrow at Marcus. "What about you? Ever think about what might have been?"

He seemed to brood a little, and nodded his head slowly. "Yes, I have. But I have been either a Jedi or a Sith for so long, I dont know what. If I had the choice, I'd be Tohmahawk I guess."

Arya considered that. "Easier to stay in the middle, huh? You don't have to worry about the Force that way." She shrugged. "I don't know what I would do if I had those kind of powers." She fell silent, motioning the waitress over for another drink, which she cradled between her hands once she got it.

Thoughts ran through her head. Like the dreams she had, seeing her father's death. Her dreams confirmed things, and stirred up trouble in other areas. Or were they even dreams? Sometimes she thought they were, and other times she was convinced that she could see into the future. Although they didn't always come true. For instance, the one where she saw herself die. She'd seen it a half a dozen different ways. Perhaps its just wishful thinking. Arya drank her fifth Guiness half gone, and then looked at Marcus.

He was watching her, a strange look in his eye. She pushed her drink away, and tapped the table with her short nails. "I should get going. I didn't get a room in town, so I'll have to catch a ride to the spaceport and sleep on the Wing of the Raven." She scooted to the edge of the booth, and looked back at him. "Thank you -for dinner."

[Marcus QDunn]

“Look… umm…. You don’t have to go back to your ship. I know where there is some good places to sleep here. Hotels aren’t the only places that have beds”

She gave him a searching look. “Like your place?”

“Oh, nothing like that! Please don’t think…”

His honest shock on his face made her laugh. “But if your offering…?”

“No. Upstairs is a visitors and dignitaries complex. I guarantee it’s the best place in the area. I actually don’t have anywhere on the planet, only on one of the ships in orbit. Besides…” Here he bent over, giving the area outside the booth a glance “Something’s wrong. There’s supposed to be troops in here, except if called in emergency. You’d think I’d know if there is a problem about, yes? Stay here for a moment” Ignoring her questions, he drew one of his guns, before scanning the area with his mind. Although he didn’t find anything, he did note that there were fewer people about than normal. This was getting odder and odder. Marcus dug into a pocket as he walked towards the kitchen, taking out his comm. Unit and flicking it on. “Control, this Tohmahawk. Where the hell are the troops assigned to the Bar and Grill?”

“With you dealing with a disturbance at Grett Street….. this isn’t the case?”

“Would I be asking if it was?!? Get me an explanation, now!” He however had a glimmer of an idea already.

Someone is about to try something. My guess is the scum we gave a good kicking to want some payback. But how the hell did they get my comm. Code to fake an order??

He was about to resume walking to the kitchen, whern he heard a footstep behind. He turned to see Arya, hand on hip, blaster in hand.

“What the bloody hell do you think your doing? I told you wait here!” he snapped

“Going to stop me?” she replied

He stared at Arya for a moment, taking in her leather clad form, before breaking into a smile. “Yeah, guess not. Come on then”. He turned on heel and went for the kitchen, which was the fastest way to the alley behind the building

[Arya Ravenwing]

It had been easy enough to reacquire her blaster, and she held it easily in her hand as she followed Marcus through the kitchen area. Arya looked at the pools of grease on the griddles and the flames leaping up from the grills, and hoped it wouldn't come down to a fight in here. She bumped into a mustachioed chef, his tall hat pulled over his eyes as he fumbled with a spoon and mixing bowl. "Sorry."

He dropped the spoon, and went into a rant in non-Basic language, with a lot of bork bork borks. Arya's eyes widened, and she quickened her pace to catch up to Marcus, who was opening the back door carefully. Blaster first, she followed him outside, checking behind him as he walked out. The alley was clear.

As they stood outside the Bar and Grill, Arya heard a commotion inside the building, and her mind's eye flashed into focus, showing her the scene inside. There were between ten and twenty armed aliens and men bursting into the non-descript bar, scattering dishes and beer glasses as they entered. She rolled her eyes. "Not ones for subtlety." Then she paused, having forgotten herself. No one knew of her second sight, not even Marcus. However, he seemed to know the same thing she did, and didn't notice her slip up.

He motioned to her to step closer. "We'll have to take them out ourselves. My closest back up is about twenty minutes away. You think you can -"

Arya snorted. "You know I can. You want the front door? I'll take the back entrance." She jerked her head towards the kitchen door they had just exited from.

[Marcus QDunn]

“No, you go in the front door… I have someone I need to tap on the shoulder to help”

She looked at him, puzzled. “Who?”

“Well…. That big pile of rags and garbage over there”

Ravenwing’s expression clearly said he had gone mad. “What are you expecting in that rubbish pile? Yoda?”

“Whoever is in the bar right now would wish it was Yoda. Quick, front door. Cause a disturbance out the front, draw them out. When you hear the screams, drop your blaster and surrender”

“Umm pardon?” She asked, politely.

“DO IT!” His voice was like electricity, sparking every nerve into unintended action. She was even somewhat startled to feel her feet take the steps in the right direction. “Believe me, you’ll see the wisdom in this Arya” he said much, much more gently “Just go and don’t question for the moment. I know what I’m doing”

“Glad you do cause I don’t!” she snapped, but complied anyway. He waited for her to go around the corner, before his hand dipped into a pocket, taking out a piece of metal. It was small, 5 cm. It had small symbols written over the surface, blue in colour. The Jedi touched one symbol and a small shrill noise came out. A few seconds later, the rubbish pile shook, moved, then parted like a wave. From underneath, there emerged a grey mottled … thing… for want of a word. A growling, snarling beast, 15 foot in height, massive claws and bright, sharp teeth. It came to a standing position, breath coming out in animalistic snorts. A monster, something like you would see in a nightmare.

“Huunnnnggrrryyyyyyy….” It growled softly.. “Eaaaatttttt yooouuuuu”

“You wish. You recognise this?” Here, he held up the cylinder. The beast paused, then snorted.

“I doooooo. Noootttt eeeaaatttttt yooouuuuu”

“Inside then. Trouble makers. What you deal with before I get in there are yours. Wait a moment…… ah there she goes. Do NOT touch the woman out the front, Understand?”

The beast seemed to nod, before moving to the back door, hunching down, and disappearing inside. Marcus counted to five, before the first scream pierced the air.

“Your getting slow Oricus” he said to himself, drawing one of the rail guns and setting off inside as well.

[Arya Ravenwing]

Arya ran lightly down the alley, cursing under her breath about Jedi and men in general, until she reached the corner of the building. She poked her head around it, and then the rest of her body followed as she stayed close to the wall.

Arriving at the front entrance to the Grill, Arya kicked the door in and stuck her blaster inside. The glare from the street backlighted her, causing the group inside to squint as they focused on her shape. She pointed her gun at the large apeish man who had assaulted her earlier, and then shifted her aim to the man on his left.

He was the one in charge. Somehow she just knew it. "Drop the blasters!" One thug twitched, and she suddenly had a steak knife in her hand, pulled from a nearby table. It left her hand and buried itself in his thigh as he dropped to the ground, his blaster clattering onto the floor.

The human male she had picked as the leader looked at her. "Is that all you've got?" She saw his blaster arm move, and shot at his hand, but missed, her blaster bolt scoring the bar behind him as she threw herself out the door. The heel of her boot was slagged as the bolt buried itself in the ground where she had been.

She yanked her boots off, and ran across the street as a few thugs came out to deal with her.