Knights of the Old Republic: Whispers of the Force

Chapter One
Among the Shadows

The Dancing Cu-Pa, one of Nar Shadda's fastest growing and most popular cantinas was packed as usual with a wide assortment of aliens of all different kind of species. From a group of Chanda-Fan's sharing a drink together, to the Twi'lek dancers up on poles to many male species delight, and even couple of Gran spread throughout the cantina.

A young hooded male sat in the corner of the large cantina among the shadows, letting his almost golden hazel eyes scan the room. Though one wouldn't know due to the hood that shaded his face, but underneath sat a bright and handsome human male with light brown hair. He reached for his caf, taking a sip and waiting on his targets arrival.

Despite all the diverse species located in the room, there was only one that he cared about. An Aleena who went by the name of Mesco. The cold caf went smoothly down the man's throat, hitting the spot for him. As he brought down the drink, he saw him. The little Aleena was squirming his way through the crowd towards a table made up of an Ithorian, Wookiee, and a Twilek.

His eyes followed him all the way to the table, where he laid down a datapad and kept walking. By this time the man was quickly on his feet, also walking towards the table. The small group of three tried not to look like they have noticed the datapad yet, but was doing a terrible job of it.

Just before the Ithorian reached for it the man snatched it as he walked by. As he did so he slightly flicked his wrist towards their table, causing all three of their drinks to spill on them.

"E chu ta!" The tan skinned Twi'lek cried standing up slightly to see his favorite drink was all over his lap.

The man smirked, quickly blending into the crowd and out of sight of the three who were suppose to receive the datapad. He kept his eyes on Mesco the entire time, but still fully aware of his surroundings. Mesco made his way out of The Dancing Cu-Pa and out into the dangerous streets of Nar Shadda.

Mesco made his way through the streets, walking past a group of human females, Twi'leks, and other close humanoid species that were selling out their services to anyone had the credits they were offering. As Mesco walked past, the small alien managed to lift the skirt of one of the girls and take a quick peek.

"Hey, slimeball if you wanna a look then you better get them cred's out!" She slapped his hand away.

"Aw, come on. It's me, Mesco. Why not one on the house?" He said in accented basic.

"I know of you. Yeah, your the one who is in with those bucketheads. I've heard of you." The prostitute seemed to be teasing him. Mesco took in full stride.

"Business is business, doesn't matter who it is with." Mesco gave whatever passed as a smile in species.

"You got any credits?" She asked. Mesco looked her up and down, and then backed away.

"You are not worth it, human." Mesco turned and continued in the direction he was going. The man had stayed back, blending in and continued to follow when Mesco walked on. The man passed the group of prostitutes and heard that one girl still cursing Mesco's name.

One very attractive blue Twi'lek crossed in front of the man, smiling.

"Oh, you are a cute one. Mysterious, too! How about it, sweetheart? Only one hundred credits for you." She winked, blocking his way. The others in her group begin to converge around him, all asking around the same questions. He tried making his way through them but was not encountering much luck.

Suddenly he heard a loud Wookiee roar coming from behind. The man turned to see the group of three making their way out of the cantina and pointing in his direction.

"Out of my way!" The man yelled at the girls, trying to push them aside. Mesco had turned, looking at the man now. The Aleena began to run, knowing that someone had been following him. The man grunted himself, wishing the situation could have been easier than this. The chase had begun.

Mesco led him all over the streets of Nar Shadda, all of this while the Ithorian, Wookiee, and Twi'lek were on his tail. Mesco made a sharp right turn into an alleyway, forcing the young man to follow. He did so without hesitation.
The alleyway was a dead end, no where for Mesco to go now.

"It's over, Mesco. You don't have anywhere to run." The man said, becoming aware of the three presences behind him.

"No, boy...I'm afraid it is over for you!" He pointed his small, jagged blue finger at him as if it were a cue for the three behind him to jump at him. The hooded man closed his eyes and focused. Right before any one of the three were able to touch him, he jumped up and backwards out of their reach and landed behind them. The Ithorian lunged so far that he actually fell to the ground.

"Give us the datapad and you don't have to get hurt, kid." The Twi'lek thug said with his hand outstretched. "You have no idea what you are getting into."

The Wookiee threw his large paw towards his face. The man ducked, sweeping his leg under the Twi'lek while he was done there. As he came up, the Ithorian once again was up and swinging towards him. The man caught his punch, and kicked the "hammerhead" on the back of his long neck. The kick caused the alien to crash to the ground. The hooded man was satisfied when he heard the loud crack on impact. His hazel eyes looked straight at the Wookiee that began to charge him. The hooded man closed his eyes and simply listened, hearing the Twi'lek gathering behind him.

He jumped up once again as the sound of a blaster emitted from behind him, forcing the Twi'lek to accidentally shoot his Wookiee companion. The hooded man came down on the Twi'lek and kicked the blaster from his hand. The man waited, waiting to see if the Twi'lek would take this chance and run. The Twi'lek gladly did so.

Mesco looked horrified as he saw the smoldering wound that exited out of the furry Wookiee's back, the unconscious Ithorian, and the Twi'lek that was no where in sight.

"Who...who are you!?" The Aleena physically trembled. The hooded man removed the hood that shadowed his face.

"My name is Aaryn Karsa, and I'm a Jedi."

"I did nothing, Jedi. Whatever you have heard, it's not true! I swear on my mother's life."
Aaryn approached Mesco, pulling out the datapad he had picked up in The Dancing Cu-Pa.

"Yeah? Well this datapad here says otherwise. You are in league with the Mandalorians, ready to betray the Republic for some credits." Aaryn shook his head.

"Look, like I say business is business. It just turns out that some of my business is with those war loving bucketheads!" Mesco tried to explain.

"I'm sorry, Mesco. But it looks like I have to take you in for conspiracy against the Republic." Aaryn said, sounding genuinely sorry. Suddenly something strong burned in the Force. Something...confused, angry? A dark figure dropped in behind Aaryn.

Aaryn turned around as he heard the familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber. Staring back at Aaryn was a Zabrak female, wielding a yellow lightsaber. Aaryn didn't recognize her, but it was no doubt she was also a Jedi.

"You are going to give me that datapad and then your going to let Mesco go." She hissed, the yellow reflecting off her pale skinned, horned head. Aaryn sighed, turning as he reached for his own lightsaber. He ignited it and the emerald blade slowly came up, giving a green reflection of his own face.

I have a bad feeling about this, he thought.