Chapter Nine
Aramis gazed out of the wall of transparisteel that separated the inside of Uraala's apartment from the balcony. Her apartment, just like her father's, was located at the top of a skyscraper located in Pixelito City's downtown district. He lay on his back on one of her couches, his bare feet propped up on the arm, his head supported by his arms criss-crossed behind his head. It was the day after his fight with the Zygerrian, and he had no bouts scheduled today. He turned his head towards the huge holographic vidscreen Uraala had embedded within the organic tiled wall. He had been replaying Lehal Jak's bout from yesterday, with the Gamorrean. The dark skinned human had ended up winning on a judge's decision. In the ten minute bout nothing he threw at the boar-like humanoid had seemed to do any damage. Yet he had managed to avoid being hit for that same length of time. Jak had come off the worse, but the judges didn't seemed to have counted self inflicted wounds suffered from landing strikes on your opponent against him.
Uraala entered the room, carrying a datapad in one hand and a cocktail in the other. Aramis glanced up, smiling when he saw the bright pink pajamas she was wearing. The material was fluffy, and he thought she looked not unlike a hare that had fallen into a vat of liquid candy. But somehow she still pulled it off.
"I want a pair of those," Aramis said, nodding towards the fluffy outfit.
"It's literally the most comfortable thing I've ever worn," Uraala said with a laugh. "We should make you a combat uniform out of this material. Your opponents will be so bewildered you will be able to knock them out before they process what happened to them."
"It's not the worst idea," Aramis said, shrugging.
"Speaking of ideas," Uraala began. "I think it's time to do some opposition research on your target."
"Opposition research?"
"Yes. The whole point of you fighting in this tournament was to get close to him, right? To find out if he was a Jedi?"
"Yeah. And to earn some credits while doing it."
"Well, you don't need to worry about credits. I got you covered there. So that leaves figuring out who this human is, if he comes from your Order."
"And if I can convince him to help out the...cause," Aramis said, searching for the correct term.
"You also need to find out if he is someone whose help you want," she added. "Before, your resources were limited. Hence entering the tournament. But they aren't anymore, and I've got a friend who specializes in this kind of work."
"Someone who works your father?"
"Yeah. But before he worked for my father he worked for me. He used to be on my crew, before that he was a merc. Now he runs a private security firm. There's only one potential problem...well, only a problem for you. But I'm going to tell right off to get over it."
"What problem?"
"He's my ex-boyfriend."
"What? Really?" Aramis said, swinging his legs off of the couch and sitting up in order to face Uraala, who sat in the couch on the opposite side of the room.
"Yes, really. It was a mutual break-up. And we're still friends."
"That's...nice, I suppose," Aramis began carefully. "Do you trust him?"
"I trust him with my life. Seriously. The only person I trust more is you, meeshku," she said, using the huttesse word for 'sweetie.' There was a short pause as Aramis thought about it.
"If you trust him that well...that's all I need to know," he said at last.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Completely sure. Who is this guy?"
She handed him the datapad. "Exa Karr. He's a Mandalorian, his family was exiled years before the Clone Wars. He was bouncing around worlds as a hired gun before I came across him. Now he pretends to be a well-to-do businessman, but at heart he's still the scruffy looking kandosii bes'bavar you would call when you needed someone to bail you out. Someone who wasn't afraid to kick down doors and blow things up."
"I see. You said his family was exiled?" Aramis asked. He looked at the datapad, which displayed the Holonet site of Karr's company, Cabur Security.
"Yeah," she nodded. "It's not really my place to talk about it. But the short story is that his family was involved with the True Mandalorians, a faction in the Mandalorian Civil War. The True Mandalorians lost, hence the exile."
"Ah. When you said Mandalorian exiles...very unflattering images popped into my head."
"You know most of the Mandalorians are pacifists, right?" Uraala asked.
"That was before the Clone Wars," Aramis said. Mandalore had sided with the Separatists during the war. Then, right before the Republic had invaded, there had been some kind of coup. The information about the whole series of events, at least what was available to the public through the Holonet, had been rather vague. "Times have changed."
"True," Uraala said. "So. You want me to call him?"
Aramis wished he could meditate on it. It was true what Kylta had said on Dantooine. If they hoped to accomplish anything of value against Palpatine's Empire they needed allies. The problem was, the more people he relied upon, the more vulnerable he became. If all he wanted was to be safe he could hide away on some desert planet in the middle of nowhere. But if he wanted to make a difference, he had to take risks. Entering the tournament was a risk. Befriending...no, falling in love...with Uraala was a risk. Lehal Jak was a risk.
"Yeah. Let's do it."
"Okay. I'll make some calls and set up a meeting for tomorrow."
"Sometime after the second bout should work," Aramis agreed.
oOOOO
Aramis bowed towards his opponent. He wore the same white uniform as before. The blood had been washed out of it, but the slashes in the shoulder remained. This time his opponent bowed as well. The combatants went to their marks.
He had never heard of a Noghri before. Uraala had done some quick research once he had found out who his opponent would be. The Noghri's homeworld had been unknown to the galaxy at large until the Clone Wars. The only mention of it on the Holonet was that a battle had been fought there, nothing further was stated.
The humanoid before him had slate grey skin, his body leathery and hairless. The being was much shorter than he was, but powerfully built. The buzzer overhead sounded. The Noghri stood still, his breathing calm, his muscles relaxed. Aramis frowned.
He took a half step forward and the Noghri did the same. Aramis held his hand up in his standard guard, one hand high, the other low. The Noghri held both of his hands high but kept his muscles relaxed, just as Aramis did. And then the grey skinned alien attacked.
The jab came in the blink of an eye. One moment Aramis was planning a feint and the next a fist smashed into his nose. He fell back. His vision blurred. He felt two punches land against his ribs...the same one-two punch sequence he had used against the Zygerrian.
Aramis stepped backwards and swept out with his foot, a kick designed to keep the Noghri away. Instead the Noghri caught Aramis' leg and pulled him inwards, repeatedly smashing his fist down on his thigh. He counter punched, aiming for his opponents ear as he took strike after strike on his leg. The Noghri, with superhuman reflexes, got his forearm up, catching his counter. In retaliation Aramis received a headbutt to the face.
The Noghri released his leg, allowing Aramis to stumble backwards. The alien stepped forward casually, aiming another jab towards his face. He managed to block this one, but it was a feint. A second punch plunged into his stomach, causing him to crumble forward.
Aramis rolled onto his back. His vision was blurry and blood streamed down his nose like a faucet. He had no feeling in his leg and he could barely breath. The bout had gone on for less than thirty seconds and it was almost over already.
The Noghri stepped atop him, one hand gripping the neck of his uniform. The other hand went up, preparing to land a knockout blow. Aramis aimed a desperate hooking punch, which the Noghri easily deflected with his raised hand. The alien responded with a quick jab to Aramis' chest. And then the alien's hand went back up.
Just as the fist began to shoot downwards Aramis snapped his uninjured leg upwards. He hooked his knee around the Noghri's arm, using his shin to pull him down. The alien frowned and tried to spin away, realizing he had made a mistake. But Aramis wrapped his bicep around the back of the Noghri's neck and rolled backwards, wrapping the Noghri into a small package cradle.
The alien began jabbing his fist into Aramis' side, but he ignored the crushing pain threatening to overwhelm him. Instead he grabbed the Noghri's wrist, wrapped both legs around his neck, and rolled over the top of his arm. The Noghri was spun onto his back, unable to break free despite his outsized strength and agility
Aramis stretched out, his legs pushing on the alien's neck while he hyperextended his elbow. He felt a snapping sensation as the Noghri's elbow joint blew out. The alien desperately landed strike after strike against his ribs, but he gritted his teeth and kept his armbar on. Finally the strikes began to weaken, and then cease altogether. The Noghri passed out.
Aramis released his opponent as the buzzer sounded. The referee ran out onto the mat, but could only stand over the winner as Aramis scooted backwards away from the unconscious Noghri.
Aramis had to be carried off the mat. Moments later he lay on his back in the locker room as the medic began administering first aid. "We're going to have to send you to a medcenter," the human man said. Aramis' vision swam, blood continuing to stream down his face. Each breath he took caused needles of pain to shoot into his body.
"Seven rylothian hells," he heard Uraala say when she entered the locker room. "I thought he was going to kill you."
"Id ib was beal bite be ood ab," Aramis said, he speech almost unintelligible.
"I'll get him to the medcenter," Uraala instructed the nurse, raising her comlink to her ear.
"Banks," Aramis said. He felt a sudden sting as the nurse stuck him with a sedative injection. An instant later he passed out.
oOoOo
Aramis sat in Cabur Security's lobby, which was richly decorated in plushy leather divans, black marble floors, and rich mahogany from Kashyyyk. His face was swollen and bandaged, pink bruising marred his cheeks. He still wore the hospital gown they had put him in after a quick bacta bath.
He tried to ignore the stare from the receptionist and the other beings sitting in the waiting room. He was sure that, if it weren't for Uraala sitting next to him, he would've been thrown out already. He glanced upward when he heard footsteps approaching. He had to rely on his sense of hearing as his vision was still blurred, especially at his periphery.
"Wow," came the voice of a man with a thick Mandalorian accent. "If I hadn't seen the fight live on the Holonet I would have thought you had been through a speeder accident," Exa said.
"Ib brolly beel better ib I ad," Aramis said, his voice nasally through his broken nose.
"I think it would be best if you let us do us do the talking," Uraala interjected.
"Babebber," Aramis shrugged. He winced as he rose from his seat and followed the others to Exa Karr's office.
Exa wore a fine business suit, his blonde hair closely shaved on the sides and long on top. His office was a huge room with comfortable couches, a huge vidscreen on the wall, and a wooden desk the size of a door. He had decorated his walls with weapons; there were antique Czerka blasters, pairs of duelist vibroswords, and even a suit of Mandalorian beskar'gam battle armor from the days of the Old Republic.
"Ibrebbive cobection," Aramis tried to say.
"Thanks," Exa answered. "Some of it was passed down, other things I bought at auction."
"Some of it I helped smuggle through customs," Uraala said, smiling mischievously.
"So, I'm assuming you didn't stop by just to introduce me to your new friend," Exa said. "What can I do for you, Uraala?"
"It's for him. We want to hire your company for some surveillance work," Uraala answered.
"You boud all ib obbobi…" Aramis began.
"You could call it opposition research," Uraala translated, slight annoyance on her face.
"Who is the target?"
"Lehal Jak," she answered.
"Last year's champion? Why do you need to hire out for surveillance on the guy? Aren't all of his fights available on the Holonet?"
Aramis glanced at Uraala and nodded. "We suspect he has the Force." There was a long pause as Exa processed her implication.
"You think he's a Jedi? Do you want to collect the bounty on him?"
"Aboluty ot. Ib Embire ums bor im I bill bold you rebobibble," Aramis said angrily.
Exa held up his hands in apology. "I wasn't a fan of the Republic, much less this new Empire. I don't care about politics or hunting the Empire's enemies. Unless it's business, of course."
"We want to know everything about him," Uraala said. "Where he lives, where he eats, where he came from. Who his friends are. And we want everything you gather to be as highly classified as possible."
"If he really is a Jedi...they've got a half million credit bounty for information leading to an arrest. A full million if you bring them in yourself. That's five years salary for most of my people. There's no way I can trust them," he explained.
"Then do the work yourself," Uraala suggested.
"You know, the whole point of having my own company is so I don't have to do grunt work like this anymore."
"Are you turning me down Exa?" Uraala asked, her eyebrows raising slightly.
"No," he shook his head. "Of course not. It's just going to take a little bit longer if I have to do all the legwork myself."
"Ab long ab you bit done bebore da burniment," Aramis said, a bit of blood beginning to drip from his nose. His bandage had reached saturation.
"You should stop talking now," Uraala said, patting Aramis on the back. "Is there anything else you need to know?" she asked, turning back towards Exa.
"I think I've got it. I'll send you the bill on delivery," he added, toying with a small vibroknife on his desk. "How are you doing, by the way?"
"I'm still alive," Uraala answered simply.
Exa glanced at Aramis, wishing he could speak with the blue man alone, but also not wanting to have listen to him try to say words in his current condition. "All right. You promise you'll call me if anything happens."
"You'll be the second or third call, promise," Uraala said with a smile.
oOoOo
Aramis floated in a bacta tank, naked except for some tight underwear and the breathing mask on his face. Uraala slept in a chair in the medcenter, her condition causing her to fall asleep earlier in the evening than most beings. He would be sleeping to, if not for the holographic projector Uraala had been allowed to bring in. Lehal Jak's second bout was being broadcast. This time he was fighting the Zygerrian that Aramis had fought in his opener.
The Zygerrian abandoned the circling intimidation tactic he had employed against Aramis, this time going on the attack as soon as the buzzer sounded. Jak was able avoid each swipe of the Zygerrian's claws with small movements, moving only enough to get out of harms way. Once again Aramis noticed the influence of the second form of lightsaber combat, Soresu.
Jak was shorter than Aramis, and had less reach, making it even more difficult for him to counter attack, even when the Zygerrian's wide, sweeping attacks left openings. Eventually the Zygerrian began to get exhausted, his relentless pace leaving him breathless. The alien was clearly not used to a fight going on for very long.
The Zygerrian aimed a swipe Jak's face, but the human caught him by the forearm, claws centimeters from his face. The Zygerrian tried to pull his hand out of Jak's grasp, but seemed unable to. Aramis filed this information away in his head. As well as having Jedi reflexes, he was unnaturally strong.
Jak twisted the Zygerrian's wrist. The feline humanoid aimed a kick for the human's midsection, but Jak caught that as well. Jak pulled the Zygerrian in and then released him. A blink of an eye later and he swept the Zygerrian's feet out from under him.
The Zygerrian kicked out but Jak evaded his clawed feet. A single punch to the Zygerrians head knocked him out, and the match was over.
