Rhai'liah spun around to see several men dressed in uniform approaching her in military fashion. Her first instinct was to grab her weapon, but she forced herself not to. If there was a peaceful way out of this situation, she would much rather do that than try to fight her way out of here and make herself a criminal on this planet in her first five seconds of her stay. She forced herself to let her hand fall to her waist instead, trying to mimic a pose that showed confusion but confidence. She wasn't sure if she had succeeded or not, but the most she could do was try. The man that seemed to be in charge approached her quickly and she took a moment to look him over. He was obviously strong, but she bet that she was stronger than he was. He had short brown hair that was cut in a military style and his eyes were a dull gray.
"Excuse me officer, but I have just arrived. What could I have possibly done to get in trouble already?" Rhai'liah asked, looking over her situation. There were six guards. She could easily take that number on if they didn't have any secret weapons on them. That was also counting on the fact there weren't any other men in hiding or that they wouldn't be able to call for backup.
"Your name is not well known out here to many people Moore. Only certain law officials know your name due to your work on Nar Shaddaa and Tashari," The man explained and Rhai'liah mentally cursed. Damn it. She had been hoping that her activities on the smuggler's moon and Tashari wouldn't have made it out here, but that was obviously not the case. She probably should have gone by Kiana instead of Tyla if that really was the case. But then again, if they knew of what she had done when she had been searching for the masters, she highly doubted they would be completely unaware of her activities as the bounty hunter Kiana Shale.
"Sir, I do believe that my crimes on those planets have already been taken care of. So you will release me from custody and cause me no more problems while I am on Nyverin," The exile ordered, waving her hand lowly as she laced her words with the Force. The man paused for a moment before giving her a blank expression.
"You are released from custody and we will cause you no more problems while you are on Nyverin. Please have a pleasant stay," The man droned and Rhai'liah tried to keep a small smile off her face. Ah, the joys of having skill in Force persuasion. It certainly made jobs and tough situations a lot easier to get out of. Now all she had to do was hope that nobody figured out what she had done. That was bound to end even worse.
"Thank you sir. Now I shall be on my way," She smiled softly, pushing past the men that had gathered around their leader. They were looking at him curiously and asking him questions, but she knew he would believe that he had released her on his own free will. Hopefully it would give her enough time to conclude her business on Nyverin and move on, but one could never be sure. It was obvious Revan was covering her tracks because she didn't want to be followed. The exile couldn't be sure as to why she didn't want to be found, but she was going to assume the worst until something proved her wrong.
Rhai'liah sighed as she looked around the city, taking in its elaborate appearance. Loridan was an odd place since it looked like a mix of Onderon's capital Iziz and Coruscant. It really was a beautiful city, but it had the attitude of Nar Shaddaa's worst sectors. At least it didn't smell as bad. She stopped by a nearby window and looked in, trying to get a glimpse at her faint reflection. Her white hair was now falling to her ribs even in a ponytail, showing just how much she needed that haircut she had been thinking about earlier. Her white skin was clear for the most part except for the vicious scar that ran down the left side of her face. It started at her hairline and ran all the way down through her deep blue eye. The only reason she wasn't blind was because she had managed to Force heal it before it had gotten bad. It continued down in a jagged line until it split her lip, but she had grown used to the wound she had acquired back in the Mandalorian Wars. Although she enjoyed being an Arkanian Offshoot most of the time, it did give her a rather unique appearance that most people recognized. She did have a tendency to stick out in a crowd of humans. She couldn't even pass off her blue lips as lipstick since they simply looked that natural.
Shaking her head, Rhai'liah turned from the window and continued walking. She knew she was supposed to meet a contact here that had claimed to have information about a dark haired female Jedi that had passed by. The man had described Revan perfectly and had even commented on her purple and red lightsabers. This was the only lead she had right now on her half sister's location, although she was concerned that Revan had been careless enough to show her lightsabers in public. Maybe something bad had happened that had forced her to defend herself.
The exile forced herself to not think such thoughts before turning around a corner and looking up. Sure enough, she was right in front of a bar that was named the Fallen Hero. Well, that was just the most encouraging thing she had ever seen. It really lifted her spirits and her hopes of finding Revan alive and still light sided. Snorting lightly, Rhai'liah walked inside the open door and tried to keep her senses alert. She had a feeling a place like this would be just bursting full of criminals.
The second she stepped inside all conversation stopped. Taking that as a bad sign, she looked around and tried to figure out what was so different about her that everyone felt the need to drop everything they were doing to look at her. When she had been out on the street she hadn't noticed any odd behavior, but then again she had been fairly lost in her thoughts. She hadn't really been focused on her surrounding at the time. Now that she was actually paying attention though, she noticed the problem immediately. Almost every single person in the bar was human. She didn't see a single alien in sight. She didn't even spot dancing Twi'leks or anything. She glanced down at herself and then back to everyone else. Well no wonder they had stopped. She was obviously not human.
A couple of people in the corner leaned in closer to each other and started whispering loudly while glancing at her. With her Force-enhanced senses it was easy to tell they were talking about her and were discussing what they should do about her. Before Rhai'liah had the chance to do anything though, several blaster shots went off. A few people in the bar screamed in surprise and the exiled Jedi spun around, trying to find out where the shots had come from. Rhai'liah had already dropped her hand to the pouch containing her lightsaber, just waiting for an attack. She focused her eyes on the person that had fired the shot and took in the woman's appearance.
She was gorgeous, there was no way to deny that. She was also tall for a girl, standing probably around 5'10. Her facial features were almost perfectly designed and her navy blue eyes were shaped beautifully. Her dark blonde hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail much like her own and was almost the same length. Her hair framed her face perfectly and it was no surprise to the exile that someone that looked like her was willing to wear the outfit the obvious smuggler wore. Her pants were made of tight and worn leather, conforming to her shape like a second skin. Her black boots went up to her knee and she wore a complex utility belt around her waist. Her top only covered her breasts, leaving her shoulders and stomach exposed. It was made of the same leather, showing off her figure. A heavily modified blaster was in her hand and her arm was still extended upwards from when she had fired the weapon.
"Now that was a bit of a rude greeting, wasn't it? How about everyone just continues on how they were and leave the young lady alone?" The woman called and Rhai'liah was instantly aware of the Force that was in her words. She was manipulating them with Force persuasion and she might not even know she was doing it. It obviously worked though as everyone in the bar turned around and went back to what they had been doing before the exile had walked into the bar. The mysterious smuggler walked over to the Offshoot, an obvious swagger in her step and a smirk on her face.
"That was impressive. How did you do that?" Rhai'liah asked when the woman drew close. The woman shrugged as if she didn't know, but the exile could tell that she had quickly grown uncomfortable at the mention of her display.
"It's not really that important. We have more important things to be dealing with anyway. My name is Katerina Kethyn and you had a meeting arranged with my partner, Saris. He has the information about Revan you're searching for," Katerina explained and Rhai'liah peered at her. It was apparent that she was telling the truth, but that wasn't what was bugging the exile. She could easily feel the Force flowing through this woman and she knew she must have had some training. Why she was acting evasive about it though was the question that was concerning Rhai'liah. She looked the woman over once more before nodding at her.
"I'm sure you already know, but my name is Tyla Moore. I guess you should take me to Saris," Rhai'liah nodded, still trying to figure Katerina out. The smuggler turned on her heel and began walking through the bar in complete comfort. Then again, she could be comfortable in a place like this. She was human on what looked to be a completely human planet. People like Rhai'liah herself stuck out like a sore thumb.
Katerina led the exile through several different rooms of the bar until she eventually walked into a rather dark room. There weren't many people in there and the ones that were immediately turned to look at her. Rhai'liah's paranoia instantly kicked in and she dropped her hand to her swords, barely managing to move her hand away from her lightsaber. A male voice laughed from the shadows and she spun around. A shadow stood up from a table in the far back and walked forward slowly until the figure was eventually standing in the light.
He was taller than she had expected. In fact, he towered over her 5'6 form. She was guessing he had to be somewhere around 6'5 at least. His hair was incredibly dark. It was so black it almost looked blue, even in the almost non-existent light of the room. His features were stunning and the dark stubble he had did nothing but add to the air of sexiness he carried with him. His eyes stood out since they were a very light green, but they seemed to match him in a weird way. The clothes he wore were simple but obviously meant to show off his fantastic physique. All of his clothes were black but they matched him, and she could barely see his black utility belt and the blasters that hung off of it
"Well then, who might you be?" Rhai'liah asked, not able to resist looking him over again. There was no way to deny how sexy this man really was. He was very compelling and she just knew that he knew it and abused it. He motioned to the table he had moved from and Rhai'liah glanced back at Katerina who nodded at her. Taking a breath, she nodded and followed the attractive man back to his table. She sat down opposite of him and she saw Katerina come around to stand at the side of the table. She had turned in the opposite direction and it was apparent that she was acting as a guard so this meeting wouldn't be interrupted by anyone.
"The name is Saris Ruic. You've met my partner, Kat. You certainly do stand out in a place like this, exile," Saris explained and Rhai'liah tensed. If he knew that about her, then there was no telling what else he knew. She had thought she had gone through and locked up all the information Atris had leaked about her, but she might have made a mistake. Even if she had locked everything up though, a skilled slicer might have been able to get through her decryptions and find out information about her. All she could do was hope that that hadn't happened.
"The name's Tyla Moore. And I can't help that I practically glow in the dark," Rhai'liah shrugged. She saw Katerina's shoulders move as if she was laughing and she heard Saris himself laugh at her comment.
"It's a good thing we don't care about things like that Moore. But enough with the personal chat. We're both here for business, are we not?" Saris asked, leaning forward to lower his voice. Rhai'liah nodded at him and glanced back up at Katerina. She looked like she was completely absorbed in her guarding, so she looked back down at Saris.
"Indeed we are. I heard you have information on a Jedi that came through her recently. Black hair, blue eyes, pale, two lightsabers?" Rhai'liah questioned and Saris nodded at her.
"That's her. She passed through here about a month ago. She tried to get a hold of a friend of mine, but he didn't want to talk. So she went to Kat and Kat took her to me. Now before I tell you anything more, I want to know what I'm getting paid for this information," Saris stated, leaning back in his chair again. Rhai'liah sighed and slid her hand into her pocket, producing a credit stick. She slid it across the table so that it stopped directly in front of the man.
"That should be enough," Rhai'liah shrugged, trying to look nonchalant about the entire ordeal. Inside though she was quaking with excitement. This was the closest she had been to finding a traceable trail on Revan. She found it amazing that she hadn't tried to erase Saris' memories as a precaution. Curious about her half-sister's reasoning, she gently reached out and pressed at Saris' mind. He reacted instantly and she saw him glower at her.
"Don't try that again Jedi. You'll find that we're not defenseless when it comes to your tricks," He hissed and she recoiled mentally. Well then, she honestly hadn't been expecting the strength of the man's mental shields. He had definitely been trained to block intrusion, but where would he have learned that?
"Saris…" Katerina trailed off, glancing over her shoulder. Saris shook his head and tossed her the stick.
"Don't start right now Kat. Just check the credits and make sure it's legit," Saris ordered. Katerina acted like she was about to say something more but obviously decided against the action, instead opting to turn around and scan the stick with a small device. It flashed green and she tossed the device back to Saris.
"It all checks out and it's good pay," Katerina shrugged. Saris nodded at her and then turned back to Rhai'liah, his face back in the game of business.
"Alright. She wanted to know more about the Unknown Regions. I told her what I could. She wanted to know about the Sith influence in this area and I told her that most of it was based out of a planet called Daxramis. Daxramis pushes the boundaries even for the Unknown Regions. It's pretty far out there and dangerous. Here's everything we know about it and its coordinates," Saris explained, sliding a datapad over to the exile. She picked it up but left it off. She would read more. Right now there was more to discuss.
"Did she say anything about contacts or allies or anything?" Rhai'liah questioned and Saris nodded once more.
"Sure did. She said that the information I'm telling you know was to be given to nobody but an Arkanian Offshoot named Tyla Kian Moore. She gave me a name too, but I don't think it was real. She said it was Syrion and that was it. Never gave me a last name or anything. As she was leaving Nyverin, she was attacked by several dark clothed people with red lightsabers. I'm assuming they were Sith, but who knows nowadays. That's when I saw her pull her red and purple lightsabers. I've never seen anybody have such control over the Force," Saris explained. Rhai'liah tilted her head at him, wondering what he had meant. He spoke as if he had seen many Force users in his time. Before she could ask him about it though, Katerina turned around.
"Uhm, guys, we may have a problem," She muttered, pointing up to a screen on the other wall. Both Saris and Rhai'liah looked up and they both cursed when they saw the current headline.
"Known pirates and smugglers Saris Ruic and Katerina Kethyn are working with a criminal going by the name Tyla Kian Moore. Their bounties alone are worth over a million credits. They are wanted dead or alive!" The three's pictures were flashing across the screen as the newscaster spoke. The three now criminals turned to look at each other as Katerina ran over to a corner of the room and pressed a section of the wall. A door opened from nowhere and Saris stood up, motioning Rhai'liah to the door.
"We can talk later, but right now I suggest we get out of here," Saris stated and Rhai'liah nodded. She looked around and saw that the others in the dark room had turned to look at the trio. Some had already pulled weapons out and others were already approaching.
This was going to end badly.
Anything familiar belongs to LucasArts/Bioware/Obsidian. Tyla Moore/Kiana Shale belongs to Shadows of the Storm.
Destiny of Shadow © Shadows of the Storm