Star Wars: Knife's Edge IC (Invite Only)

[Cantalvia]

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Star Wars: Knife’s Edge

Chapter One: Nar Shaddaa

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The Bloated Blaster

Nar Shaddaa: The Little Coruscant, The Smuggler’s Moon, The Jewel of the Hutt system, Hell all these names were accurate in their own special way. The moon was one big city piled ontop of itself; the lower levels? A garbage heap of broken dreams, grime and chems. The upper levels? A glitzy fever dream of neon, credits, music and dirty dealings.

One of the more popular destinations was The Bloated Blaster a cantina that offered gambling, music, food, drink and plenty of dancing males and females of varying species. The owner of the operation was Zyjna the Hutt a rising star of “legitimate” business of Nar Shaddaa, holding court in the large private lounge in the back Zyjna did what she pleased as she lounged decked to the nines in jewels and silks, watching customers play games and lose adding to her growing coffers while also half listening to smugglers excuses about late shipments or needing more credits because of how dangerous a certain run was getting.

All of this was what a Hutt was raised to do but Zyjna couldn’t help but feel anxious, things had been going well for too long, something was up she could feel it in her tail.

<< Yeah, yeah whatever I’ll give you 500 more credits if you get the shipments here on time and stop complaining! >>, the Hutt grumbled waved her hand and a Twi’lek dancer sprayed the air with perfume trying to cover the smell of the Hutt. Zyjna was acutely aware that many felt her species smelled and she figured that she would become more popular if she did something about this by having the smell covered, this of course led to the cantina smelling more like a swamp that had been doused with lavender. The smuggler backed away bowing and thanking her generosity.

<< I’m resting now, no more business for today! >>, she said loudly in Huttese watching as her bodyguards escorted others looking for a handout outside of the VIP lounge. Zyjna sighed and laid back against her lounger, only looking up when she heard a commotion coming from the entrance.

[Rohane Alista]

Tyvark sat in the Bloated Blaster, face unseen behind the mask that clearly marked him as a Mandalorian. He stared down his competitor, some random Twi’lek whose name he’d never gotten in the first place, as he added a +3 to bring himself to a perfect 20. It was the only card he’d played from his hand this game of Pazaak, and it was obviously the only he’d need. He hadn’t even needed to use his force powers to win all three rounds this game.

Boring, he thought to himself tiredly, watching his opponent splutter as he lost 250 credits in a single go. I wish I could get out of this hellscape, return to the temple… but I have little choice. I wish I’d at least get someone good enough to force me to cheat. Oh well, I’ll get it back soon enough. Tyvark leaned back in his seat, eyes scanning the crowds. Not a damn interesting thing, again. It was always the same as every other time, drunk idiots staring at dancers who clearly didn’t like their jobs while lesser card players struggled to defeat each other. He wasn’t even in a location where he could snoop in on the meetings with the Hutt, or get involved in a bar brawl.

He may be a Jedi, but he was still a Mandalorian, and a bored one at that. He would give anything to be close enough to a brawl to stab some morons with his vibrosword, but his owners had very specifically made sure he sat away from any brawls this time. It hadn’t ended well at the first three pazaak parlors, after all. Or anywhere much, actually. That seemed the way of Nar Shaddaa. Nothing anywhere on this entire city moon ever ended well for anyone but the crime lords. Yet somehow people continued to flock here, like moths to the bright lights, thinking they might make a fortune- and never considering that by the time they’d stepped foot on the moon they’d lost their fortune, or their life.

Feeling himself grow agitated, Tyvark breathed out slowly and began to meditate. I am Tyvark Matulaak, he thought deep inside himself, I am the first of my kind to become a Jedi. I am the first of my kind to know the true meaning of strength. As I am I shall not remain, for I have not yet reached balance. I am Tyvark Matulaak…

[Naretion]

Nathanael Rose was wandering Nar Shaddaa after having just purchased some upgrades for his ship. He was mostly just trying to blow off time until all of the upgrades had finished installing. As his random zoned-out path finding drew him closer to the Bloated Blaster he sensed something. The force was strong nearby, which was strange as Nathanael had not yet encountered another Jedi on this planet. Instantly he suspected there might be a Sith nearby, so he followed the origin of this feeling he was sensing until it brought him right into the Bloated Blaster. He left his lightsabers hidden under some fabric of his clothing as he looked around so that he wouldn't bring any attention to himself. It was crowded in the building so he decided to take an empty seat at the edge of the room and lean up against the wall as he tried to pinpoint where what he was sensing was coming from.

Then Nathanael laid his eyes upon Tyvark, the young Mandalorian. He was certain the sense was coming from him although he did not understand. 'The force coming from a Mandalorian? Is he a sith? He doesn't look too hostile. There's no way he can be any form of a jedi...is there?' Nathanael rubbed his hairless chin as he thought to himself. He settled on simply observing the young boy for a little while before he jumped to any conclusions.

A Twi'lek waitress abruptly interrupted Nathanael's observations to ask if he wanted anything to eat or drink and Nathanael simply responded, "Sweetwater please." to get her away as fast as possible so he could focus on observing the boy.

[Imeriata]

The Bloated Blaster

"Cheat?" Twi-Alv said sounding as undignified and horrified one could over the fact that anyone even would think that she, gentle her, would actually even consider cheating at a game of cards. Admittedly she had, in more than one way, but that was neither here nor there.

"YOU BITCH! YOU ARE CHEATING!" the angry man shouted his head almost red due to his anger, either anger or that was just how he looked, it was hard to tell. What on the other hand was a bit easier to tell was that she was in some danger. The dagger the man before her had drawn made that perfectly obvious.
"I... now lets not make anything hasty here buddy, I am just a good card player, there is no reason to take this to some extremes here...." she said hoping to get him to focus on something else for just a moment or two, all she needed to get that knife away from him.

"*Leave the girl alone*" A voice said in that wonderful tongue she had grown up hearing, Sullustan. The old man did after all know how to take his sweet time. He stood there wearing that silly shirt of his, orange with darker orange flowers on it and two leather bands over his arms. However it was for once not the shirt of his that pulled ones eyes towards him. It was the pistol he had pulled out. He did have another one in his belt and she knew he used both hands just as well but he normally just scoffed at the idea of using both at the same time. "Hogwash" he called it.

Quickly when the large alien glared in the direction of the new threat did Twi-Alv throw herself to the side and quickly with a cartwheel rolled behind the Sullustan that had helped raise her.
"*took you long enough!*" she said in the same language as she drew the pistol he himself had not drawn, she preferred her rifle normally but it was back at the ship sadly enough.
"*I cannot babysit you all the time mind you*" Bobwun said a bit annoyed as he tried to size up the person before them, way bigger than both of them. On the plus side had he brought a vibrodagger to a pistol fight.
"Yeah, as I said buddy, me and pops here would rather see you sod off! I would never even think about cheating after all!" she said as she waved her pistol in his general direction and with a well deserved smug on her face.
"*Ground!*" Bobwun said as her smile vanished and was replaced with a more confused look as she tried to figure out what he meant.
"*ground?*" She replied in Sullustran and looked at her adopted father. He nodded and she looked in the direction that he was nodding in. On the ground where she had cartwheeled could one see a neat trail of cards that had fallen out of her arms.

"oh... Well I did not cheat during our game at least!" She said sounding not in the slightest embarrassed.

[Cantalvia]

A dark cloaked figure moved along the streets of Nar Shaddaa, people on the streets moved out of the figures way some crouched and hid in doorways looking away from it, the figure stopped and turned it’s attention down an alleyway where a man was holding a couple of aliens with a lightsaber.

“Alright give me all your stuff,” the man hissed in an antsy manner eyes darting around as he held the saber in a shaky hand, the aliens he was mugging were throwing credits and other of their few possessions onto the ground in front of him.

“Where did you get that saber?...”, the figure had moved nearer and pulled back it’s hood revealing a Miraluka woman her eyes and hair covered by a black veil.

“None of your business lady, give me your stuff too see I got the saber which means I killed a Jedi for it!”, he pointed the energy blade at her and glared at the two aliens to ran leaving their belongings on the ground.

“I don’t think so...you are a spice junkie, I can see the taint in your spirit.” she opened her cloak and removed her own saber a crimson blade ignited.

“Aw, shit...you-your a Sith, listen I-I didn’t...wait! here take it!”, he dropped the energy sword and turned to run.

The woman moved unnaturally quickly and let the blade sink through the man’s back and blossom out from his chest.

She hissed in his ear, “ Shame, I will just have to find them without your help…”

The man dropped to the ground while she replaced her saber into her cloak and focused her mind, she could feel more than one being with a connection to the force powerful enough to be a Jedi, she waved her hand and caught the stolen saber with the force holding it in her hand smirking, she had been assigned to meet with an intelligence officer but...she couldn’t help but think how much that Jedi must be missing their saber and how she should return it to them.

She ignited the blade and made a slice across the wall...oh yes, this mission was beginning to become fun.

[Malgrave]

It was surprisingly easy to find targets in the Bloated Blaster willing to provide information, the appropriate amount of alcohol combined with the proper flirty attire made for very loose lips with criminals of various stature attempting to lure her away to the comfort of a nearby room or secluded area. After a few drinks she had decided upon her target, a lowly independent smuggler who attempted to get into bed earlier by bragging about his loose connections to the Republic and his apparent 'sizeable' wealth but his scrawny get-together and the look on his face when she suggested to come with her to an empty and secluded alleyway made her doubt these claims. As the man stepped forward into the darkness of the alleyway Somuolo made her move, her characteristic red eyes glistering in mirth as she listened to the faint mixture of gurgles, hisses and muffled screams that emanated from the scrawny man she was holding, a rather unique orchestra that often came together when she was using her vibroknife to slowly slit open the throat of another unsuspecting target and it was one she had grew to love and even crave in her brief time as part of Imperial Intelligence.

As the body fell to the floor with a thud, the Imperial Agent made no attempt to hide the body instead taking her time to clean both herself and her blade before making the brief walk back to the Bloated Blaster. Nar Shaddaa was a moon filled to the brim with smugglers, terrorists and other countless criminal elements and she had done her homework well, nobody would bother to investigate the death of a lowly smuggler especially an independent down on his luck. Somuolu had initially been sent to the cesspool that was Nar Shaddaa to meet up with a visiting Sith Lord in order to discuss local arrangements however these orders also technically expanded to analysing local criminal activity and reporting relevant information, so when her target failed to meet her at the arranged time she decided to do a little snooping of her own and while she could probably easily arrange a 'friendly encounter' with another criminal she instead decided to wait for her late Sith to arrive and not draw any attention to herself by adding more bodies to the list.