Chapter 2 - Always Know Where You Are
The Constanza was anything but a top of the line starship. It was an ancient model and looked like it was on it's last legs but constant repairs to the interior and exterior were prolonging the inevitable. The ship was currently docked on Telluride for repairs sustained while coming out of hyperspace in an area that was well known for pirate raids. The Constanza had hit one of their space mines while reentering real space. Jilt, the owner of the starship, still believed that the old model could handle a few mines but sadly that wasn't the case anymore.
"I say we shoot her and put her out of her misery." Nad commented as she sat on the metal floor of the ship, at the side of an open floor hatch, a box of tools at her feet.
The upper half of Erik Leroux's body appeared from the floor hatch. "This old girl still has some life left in her." He replied simply as he reached over Nad's legs and grabbed the necessary instrument from the box before once again disappearing into the hatchway.
"We could dock her permanently on some planet and convert her into a theme restaurant. We'd at least make some good scratch on the side." Nad went on as though she hadn't even noticed Erik come up from down in the bowls of the ship. "Anything is better then continually pouring our money into repairs on this force forsaken ship!"
Erik appeared again and tossed the tool into the box. He pulled himself up out of the hatch and slide the panel back over the opening. He stood up to his full height of 6'2 and looked down at Nad. From her point of view the artificial lighting in the ceiling panels gave his midnight blue skin an eerie glow, which was only heightened by his bright yellow eyes that stared down at her. "You just don't understand. A ship like this is a piece of history. Just think of all the things this old girl has seen. She deserves to be persevered."
"It's a ship, Erik. An inanimate object. Not a living, breathing being. And it deserves to be in a scrap pile." Nad got to her feet. Even though Erik was good five inches taller then her, she didn't let that stop her from getting up in his face. She would never let a man intimidate her. Especially this man.
"I'll be damned to the seven hells if you think I'll let that happen to my ship-"
"It's not even your ship!"
"I repair her wounds. I've become quite attached." Erik turned away and began to walk down the corridor towards the lounge. Not only was Erik one of the Bounty hunters that occupied the starship but Jilt also paid Erik a few extra credits to do the repairs to the Constanza. It was cheaper then hiring a real mechanic but at the same time might explain why the repairs needed to be done over several times. Mechanics weren't exactly his strong suit. Strategy is what he was best at and it had helped him bring in more then his fair share of bounties in the past years that he had been here.
Nad followed a few paces behind Erik, a small grin creeping across her features. They entered the lounge and took seats at the table, Erik in the booth portion and Nad in the free standing seat on the opposite side. The table itself was cluttered with data pads and file chips. Erik reached out and grabbed one of the data-pads from the table. The two sat in silence for a time, reading over the information on new bounties that had been posted. Erik thought that he could hear a faint jingling sound. He thought nothing of it at first. Old ships make strange sounds but the noise grew louder. "Do you hear that?" Nad suddenly asked.
The doors to the lounge slide open and a very disgruntled looking Mig entered the lounge, the jingling noise coming from the golden loops that were pieced into the tips of her ears. "I have had it! Jilt doesn't pay me enough to put up with this!" She ran her hand over one of her arms and a few of the short hairs began to fall of and rain down to the floor. "Look at this! Look at this I'm so stressed out I'm shedding!"
"Calm down." Nad said then turned back to the data-pad she had been reading from. Over the years that she had been here, Nad had come to learn that Mig over reacted to everything and eventually had stopped paying attention to Chattan woman's frequent rants.
"What happened?" Erik asked.
"I just had another encounter with 'young gun'." Mig explained. Obi-Wan was the youngest member of their group at the age of 22. But despite that he was an ace shot with a blaster, having impeccable accuracy. Because of those two factors the rest of the group had began to affectionately refer to him as 'young gun'. Though when Mig said it she usually was being sarcastic. "The kid got some kind of love note and started flipping out at me. Next thing I know he leaves. Took his fighter and jetted out of here."
She hadn't like Kenobi from the moment she had met him. She used words like violent and crazy when describing him. They had all had their own points of view about the new blood that joined their group. Even Erik had felt some resentment towards him because of his abilities. But the alien had soon come to realize what a reliable factor Obi-Wan could be in a tough situation.
"How long ago did he leave?" Nad asked suddenly becoming interested in the conversation.
Mig shrugged not seeing the point. "About an hour. Maybe two."
"And you just tell us this now?!" Nad threw the data-pad back on the table and ran her hands through her hair as she leaned back in the chair groaning in frustration. "I got a transmission from our old friend Rayv. Says she stopping by with a few friends of Kenobi's who want to see him. She'll be here in a few hours with these 'friends'." She glared over at Mig. "Why didn't you come to us about this sooner?"
"I was recouping from that very traumatizing experience and besides how was I suppose to know we were keeping tabs on him?"
Erik slid out of his seat and went for the door. "I'm gonna head up to the Multi-comm station and see if anyone has spotted him."
"You think we'll be able to track him down?" Nad asked as she stood up and followed him to the door.
"It'll take some time but it's better then waiting here for him to come back and knowing him that could be days from now."
**Erik watched as Kiara Bronsin walked over to the gambling table
he was currently occupying with several other, swaying her hips as
she moved closer. The bounty hunter had noticed her standing by the
bar for some time, scooping out the club for the big winners. She
had zeroed in her attentions on one of the men seated at his table.
A fairly young man with ginger hair that fell to just above his
shoulders. He would occasionally run his hand through it to keep it
out of his sea green eyes.
"You boys mind if I join you?" Kiara asked in an innocent tone but
Erik knew better then to believe that. He pitied the poor fool she
had set her sights on. Probably some naive youth who had just come
into a considerable amount of money and was now out looking for a
good time. Kid had no idea what he had gotten himself into.
Kiara took a seat next to the young man she had set her sights on
when no objections to her joining in on the game were made. One of
the other occupants of the table, a male Twi'lek began to deal out
the next hand. "Are you familiar with the game of Sabbac miss."
"Hadrea Nabal and you are."
"Malik Lafif." The Twi'lek introduced, "and these are my associates
Galan Gimm, Erik Leroux and Obi-Wan Kenobi." The other three men at
the table nodded their acknowledgments to her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Kiara said as she picked up her
cards. "And to answer your first question, I am familiar with
Sabbac but haven't played in quite some time," She flashed a sly
grin, "but I'm sure I can hold my own."
The game commenced and went on for another hour. Wins were
scattered around the table but most of them did seem to go to
Kenobi, young man that Kiara was getting close to. Erik would
occasionally let his eyes wander over to the table where Rayv and
Nad were seated on the other side of the room. Rayv looked like the
picture of disinterest, focusing on her drink. Though Erik knew
that the veteran Bounty hunter was very aware of everything going
on around her. Nad looked impatient, the toe of her boot
rhythmically tapping against the floor and her hand occasionally
drifting over to the handle of her blaster.
Erik turned his focus back to the game. They had no room to be
impulsive like Nad wanted. They couldn't very well strike here in
the club. There were too many ways for something to go wrong.
Casualties and damage fees that would come out of their pockets if
they killed any bystanders or destroyed private property not to
mention the contract on Kiara would be void with she ended up dead
before turned over to the Taman government.
If they wanted to bring in this prey they had to be patient,
methodical, and strategic. Being a former security force officer,
these things had become instinctive to Erik. He had made the
transition to a from cop to bounty hunter after losing all his
faith in the legal system. He'd seen too much corruption and had
even taken a stance against it but found that he would be standing
alone. It wasn't that everyone in his parish was against him but
the best he got was apathy.
Erik's train of thought was interrupted as the round of sabbac
ended and Kenobi pushed back his chair, standing up as he pocketed
the money he had won.
Obi-Wan looked as though he were about to speak when suddenly Erik
noticed that the tension in his body had tightened and his face
became hard. Obi-Wan turned his head towards the door. A split
second later three men entered the club. They made a quick scan of
the area. One of the men looked towards Obi-Wan. He motioned to the
other two with him and they began to make their way over. The young
man didn't try hide his presence or find a way out of the club. He
merely stood there and waited for them to come over to the table.
"Kenobi," One of the men said in a civil tone as he and the two
others with him strode over to Obi-Wan. "this is serendipitous. To
think we came in here looking for a pathetic worm and we find you!"
"It's always a pleasure, Alexi." Obi-Wan said in an even tone as
the other two men with Alexi moved around to flank his left and
right.
"Let's dispense with the pleasantries, Kenobi. You know what I
want. The money you cheated out of me."
"Cheated? I believe I won that money fairly."
Alexi shrugged as though it didn't make any difference one way or
another. "I want my money and I'm going to get it out of you one
way or another." The two minions standing behind Obi-Wan each
placed a hand on his shoulders. "Step outside with us for a while
so we can discuss this in private." Not having much choice in the
matter, Obi-Wan let them escort him out of the club like a child.
The instant the door closed behind them, the rest of the partners
of the club vacated their seats and hurried over to the windows for
a good view of what was happening outside. Erik maneuvered his way
through the cluster of people an went to the side of his two
companions.
The two men who were escorting Obi-Wan kept their hands on his
shoulders as they stopped. Alexi came and stood in front of the
young man. Words passed between them but the spectators in the club
couldn't hear what was being said. A collective cry of shock went
up from the group as they watched Alexi suddenly slug Obi-Wan in
the midsection.
The two men that were holding him let go and Obi-Wan dropped to one
knee, coughing. "Looks like Kiara isn't going to have a chance to
get to him." Nad muttered the comment so only the other two bounty
hunters could hear her.
After a few moments Obi-Wan stood up and faced Alexi again. He made
another comment that couldn't be heard by anyone in the club. One
of the thugs behind Obi-Wan moved his hand to the blaster that was
strapped to his hip. Obi-Wan turned simultaneously as the man
lifted his blaster to fire. The young man's next series of moves
were blurs of motion as he grabbed the man's wrist and flipped him
over onto his back, freeing the blaster from his grasp has he
landed on the hard ground. He fired off a shot from the blaster,
hitting Alexi's second minion. Leaving only their ring leader.
The tension in the air was thick. The audience in the club feel
silent as they waited to see what would happen next. Obi-Wan stood
with the blaster pointed squarely at Alexi's chest. Erik thought
that he saw Obi-Wan shaking slightly. Whether it was rage or fear
he didn't know. All he knew was that the "naive youth" that he had
labeled the young man to be was wrong.
Outside in he streets, Obi-Wan kept the blaster pointed at Alexi's
chest but moved it slightly as he said something to the man. A look
of uncertainty passed over Alexi's features. His soundless mouth
moved and then he calmly walked away, as though nothing had
happened. The tension in Obi-Wan's body left as he watched Alexi
leave. The young man tossed to blaster onto the ground next to the
two goons and made his way back inside the club.
As he stepped inside, as round of applauds and cheers went up
around the room. Obi-Wan ignored it all and walked over to the bar,
tolerating the slaps on the backs from people he didn't even know.
After ordering a drink from the bartender he runs his hands through
his tousled hair and closed his eyes, not even bothering to
acknowledge the woman who had come up to his side.
"That was quite a show." Kiara said. She stood between the stool
Obi-Wan was seated in and the one next to him.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes and looked sideways at her. "Believe me
that was no show. That was in fact very real." The bartender slide
his drink in front of him. Obi-Wan grasped the glass and took a
sip.
"I'm sorry if I offended you. This place isn't exactly known for
brawls. Watching you out there was like seeing something from an
old holovid." She ordered herself a drink and slide up onto the
stool next to him. "You remember me right?" She waited for him to
reply but he just looked down into his glass. "Hadrea Nabal."
Again she waited but no reply came. This one wasn't going to be
easy. "Oh, so you're a the strong, silent type. All brawn and no
brains. Is that it?"
He took another sip of his drink. "If that's what you want to
believe your welcome to it. Personally, I don't like giving much
about myself out in the open." He gave her another sideways look
"Much like you." That last statement caught her off guard. He
couldn't know who she was. Could he? She was certain she had never
been on this planet or in this sector even. She recovered from the
shock, needing all her wits about her. She was getting the feeling
that her plans were not going to go exactly as she had hoped but
she should at least get a little something for all her trouble.
She slide down from her stool and leaned in close to him, placing
on hand on his shoulder and letting the other one lightly skim
across the front of his tunic. "I don't know what you mean by that.
I'm an open book. Ask me anything."
"What do you want?" His patience wearing thin.
"I want to know you."
He turned and looked at her fully for the first time. His sapphire
eyes revealing all that he had seen in his lifetime. None of it
good. She leaned away slightly as he spoke, "You don't want to know
that. If you knew of the things I have done, you wouldn't want to
be around me. You'd run as far away as you could." His tone was
almost sad. She let her arms drop from him and she backed away,
unnerved. He stared at her for a moment then turned back to his
drink. Kiara hurried out of the club.
On the other side of the room, Rayv had returned to her seat and
watched the exchange between Obi-Wan and Kiara with great interest.
**
Nad walked down the corridor towards the lounge. They had been trying to track down Obi-Wan for nearly two hours now and had only run into dead ends. As much as she liked the kid he could be a real pain in the butt sometimes. Albeit that most of his faults were because of serious issues that he needed to over come.
The door to the lounge slid open and Nad stopped dead in her tracks as she saw a familiar person sitting causally in the lounge, talking with Mig, as though the person had only been gone a two days instead of two years. Nad barely noticed the other three people present in the lounge. "Rayv!" She barked a laugh, "Ha! I told you, you'd miss it!"
Rayv grinned slightly, "Hate to disappoint you, but I'm here on other business. I have a few words I want to share with Jilt," She then motioned over to her three Jedi guests. "And these fine people wish to see Kenobi."
Nad eyed the three strangers. The lightsabers that hung from their belts did not go unnoticed by her. "What do the Jedi want with young gun?"
Rayv shook her head and waved her off. "It's a long story that we don't have time to go into right now. They really need to speak with him."
"That's where the problem lies." She was about to elaborate when her com- link began beeping. She gave an apologetic smile as she unclipped it from her belt. "This better be good."
Erik's voice came through over the other end of the com-link. "I got a lead on him."
The Constanza was anything but a top of the line starship. It was an ancient model and looked like it was on it's last legs but constant repairs to the interior and exterior were prolonging the inevitable. The ship was currently docked on Telluride for repairs sustained while coming out of hyperspace in an area that was well known for pirate raids. The Constanza had hit one of their space mines while reentering real space. Jilt, the owner of the starship, still believed that the old model could handle a few mines but sadly that wasn't the case anymore.
"I say we shoot her and put her out of her misery." Nad commented as she sat on the metal floor of the ship, at the side of an open floor hatch, a box of tools at her feet.
The upper half of Erik Leroux's body appeared from the floor hatch. "This old girl still has some life left in her." He replied simply as he reached over Nad's legs and grabbed the necessary instrument from the box before once again disappearing into the hatchway.
"We could dock her permanently on some planet and convert her into a theme restaurant. We'd at least make some good scratch on the side." Nad went on as though she hadn't even noticed Erik come up from down in the bowls of the ship. "Anything is better then continually pouring our money into repairs on this force forsaken ship!"
Erik appeared again and tossed the tool into the box. He pulled himself up out of the hatch and slide the panel back over the opening. He stood up to his full height of 6'2 and looked down at Nad. From her point of view the artificial lighting in the ceiling panels gave his midnight blue skin an eerie glow, which was only heightened by his bright yellow eyes that stared down at her. "You just don't understand. A ship like this is a piece of history. Just think of all the things this old girl has seen. She deserves to be persevered."
"It's a ship, Erik. An inanimate object. Not a living, breathing being. And it deserves to be in a scrap pile." Nad got to her feet. Even though Erik was good five inches taller then her, she didn't let that stop her from getting up in his face. She would never let a man intimidate her. Especially this man.
"I'll be damned to the seven hells if you think I'll let that happen to my ship-"
"It's not even your ship!"
"I repair her wounds. I've become quite attached." Erik turned away and began to walk down the corridor towards the lounge. Not only was Erik one of the Bounty hunters that occupied the starship but Jilt also paid Erik a few extra credits to do the repairs to the Constanza. It was cheaper then hiring a real mechanic but at the same time might explain why the repairs needed to be done over several times. Mechanics weren't exactly his strong suit. Strategy is what he was best at and it had helped him bring in more then his fair share of bounties in the past years that he had been here.
Nad followed a few paces behind Erik, a small grin creeping across her features. They entered the lounge and took seats at the table, Erik in the booth portion and Nad in the free standing seat on the opposite side. The table itself was cluttered with data pads and file chips. Erik reached out and grabbed one of the data-pads from the table. The two sat in silence for a time, reading over the information on new bounties that had been posted. Erik thought that he could hear a faint jingling sound. He thought nothing of it at first. Old ships make strange sounds but the noise grew louder. "Do you hear that?" Nad suddenly asked.
The doors to the lounge slide open and a very disgruntled looking Mig entered the lounge, the jingling noise coming from the golden loops that were pieced into the tips of her ears. "I have had it! Jilt doesn't pay me enough to put up with this!" She ran her hand over one of her arms and a few of the short hairs began to fall of and rain down to the floor. "Look at this! Look at this I'm so stressed out I'm shedding!"
"Calm down." Nad said then turned back to the data-pad she had been reading from. Over the years that she had been here, Nad had come to learn that Mig over reacted to everything and eventually had stopped paying attention to Chattan woman's frequent rants.
"What happened?" Erik asked.
"I just had another encounter with 'young gun'." Mig explained. Obi-Wan was the youngest member of their group at the age of 22. But despite that he was an ace shot with a blaster, having impeccable accuracy. Because of those two factors the rest of the group had began to affectionately refer to him as 'young gun'. Though when Mig said it she usually was being sarcastic. "The kid got some kind of love note and started flipping out at me. Next thing I know he leaves. Took his fighter and jetted out of here."
She hadn't like Kenobi from the moment she had met him. She used words like violent and crazy when describing him. They had all had their own points of view about the new blood that joined their group. Even Erik had felt some resentment towards him because of his abilities. But the alien had soon come to realize what a reliable factor Obi-Wan could be in a tough situation.
"How long ago did he leave?" Nad asked suddenly becoming interested in the conversation.
Mig shrugged not seeing the point. "About an hour. Maybe two."
"And you just tell us this now?!" Nad threw the data-pad back on the table and ran her hands through her hair as she leaned back in the chair groaning in frustration. "I got a transmission from our old friend Rayv. Says she stopping by with a few friends of Kenobi's who want to see him. She'll be here in a few hours with these 'friends'." She glared over at Mig. "Why didn't you come to us about this sooner?"
"I was recouping from that very traumatizing experience and besides how was I suppose to know we were keeping tabs on him?"
Erik slid out of his seat and went for the door. "I'm gonna head up to the Multi-comm station and see if anyone has spotted him."
"You think we'll be able to track him down?" Nad asked as she stood up and followed him to the door.
"It'll take some time but it's better then waiting here for him to come back and knowing him that could be days from now."
**Erik watched as Kiara Bronsin walked over to the gambling table
he was currently occupying with several other, swaying her hips as
she moved closer. The bounty hunter had noticed her standing by the
bar for some time, scooping out the club for the big winners. She
had zeroed in her attentions on one of the men seated at his table.
A fairly young man with ginger hair that fell to just above his
shoulders. He would occasionally run his hand through it to keep it
out of his sea green eyes.
"You boys mind if I join you?" Kiara asked in an innocent tone but
Erik knew better then to believe that. He pitied the poor fool she
had set her sights on. Probably some naive youth who had just come
into a considerable amount of money and was now out looking for a
good time. Kid had no idea what he had gotten himself into.
Kiara took a seat next to the young man she had set her sights on
when no objections to her joining in on the game were made. One of
the other occupants of the table, a male Twi'lek began to deal out
the next hand. "Are you familiar with the game of Sabbac miss."
"Hadrea Nabal and you are."
"Malik Lafif." The Twi'lek introduced, "and these are my associates
Galan Gimm, Erik Leroux and Obi-Wan Kenobi." The other three men at
the table nodded their acknowledgments to her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Kiara said as she picked up her
cards. "And to answer your first question, I am familiar with
Sabbac but haven't played in quite some time," She flashed a sly
grin, "but I'm sure I can hold my own."
The game commenced and went on for another hour. Wins were
scattered around the table but most of them did seem to go to
Kenobi, young man that Kiara was getting close to. Erik would
occasionally let his eyes wander over to the table where Rayv and
Nad were seated on the other side of the room. Rayv looked like the
picture of disinterest, focusing on her drink. Though Erik knew
that the veteran Bounty hunter was very aware of everything going
on around her. Nad looked impatient, the toe of her boot
rhythmically tapping against the floor and her hand occasionally
drifting over to the handle of her blaster.
Erik turned his focus back to the game. They had no room to be
impulsive like Nad wanted. They couldn't very well strike here in
the club. There were too many ways for something to go wrong.
Casualties and damage fees that would come out of their pockets if
they killed any bystanders or destroyed private property not to
mention the contract on Kiara would be void with she ended up dead
before turned over to the Taman government.
If they wanted to bring in this prey they had to be patient,
methodical, and strategic. Being a former security force officer,
these things had become instinctive to Erik. He had made the
transition to a from cop to bounty hunter after losing all his
faith in the legal system. He'd seen too much corruption and had
even taken a stance against it but found that he would be standing
alone. It wasn't that everyone in his parish was against him but
the best he got was apathy.
Erik's train of thought was interrupted as the round of sabbac
ended and Kenobi pushed back his chair, standing up as he pocketed
the money he had won.
Obi-Wan looked as though he were about to speak when suddenly Erik
noticed that the tension in his body had tightened and his face
became hard. Obi-Wan turned his head towards the door. A split
second later three men entered the club. They made a quick scan of
the area. One of the men looked towards Obi-Wan. He motioned to the
other two with him and they began to make their way over. The young
man didn't try hide his presence or find a way out of the club. He
merely stood there and waited for them to come over to the table.
"Kenobi," One of the men said in a civil tone as he and the two
others with him strode over to Obi-Wan. "this is serendipitous. To
think we came in here looking for a pathetic worm and we find you!"
"It's always a pleasure, Alexi." Obi-Wan said in an even tone as
the other two men with Alexi moved around to flank his left and
right.
"Let's dispense with the pleasantries, Kenobi. You know what I
want. The money you cheated out of me."
"Cheated? I believe I won that money fairly."
Alexi shrugged as though it didn't make any difference one way or
another. "I want my money and I'm going to get it out of you one
way or another." The two minions standing behind Obi-Wan each
placed a hand on his shoulders. "Step outside with us for a while
so we can discuss this in private." Not having much choice in the
matter, Obi-Wan let them escort him out of the club like a child.
The instant the door closed behind them, the rest of the partners
of the club vacated their seats and hurried over to the windows for
a good view of what was happening outside. Erik maneuvered his way
through the cluster of people an went to the side of his two
companions.
The two men who were escorting Obi-Wan kept their hands on his
shoulders as they stopped. Alexi came and stood in front of the
young man. Words passed between them but the spectators in the club
couldn't hear what was being said. A collective cry of shock went
up from the group as they watched Alexi suddenly slug Obi-Wan in
the midsection.
The two men that were holding him let go and Obi-Wan dropped to one
knee, coughing. "Looks like Kiara isn't going to have a chance to
get to him." Nad muttered the comment so only the other two bounty
hunters could hear her.
After a few moments Obi-Wan stood up and faced Alexi again. He made
another comment that couldn't be heard by anyone in the club. One
of the thugs behind Obi-Wan moved his hand to the blaster that was
strapped to his hip. Obi-Wan turned simultaneously as the man
lifted his blaster to fire. The young man's next series of moves
were blurs of motion as he grabbed the man's wrist and flipped him
over onto his back, freeing the blaster from his grasp has he
landed on the hard ground. He fired off a shot from the blaster,
hitting Alexi's second minion. Leaving only their ring leader.
The tension in the air was thick. The audience in the club feel
silent as they waited to see what would happen next. Obi-Wan stood
with the blaster pointed squarely at Alexi's chest. Erik thought
that he saw Obi-Wan shaking slightly. Whether it was rage or fear
he didn't know. All he knew was that the "naive youth" that he had
labeled the young man to be was wrong.
Outside in he streets, Obi-Wan kept the blaster pointed at Alexi's
chest but moved it slightly as he said something to the man. A look
of uncertainty passed over Alexi's features. His soundless mouth
moved and then he calmly walked away, as though nothing had
happened. The tension in Obi-Wan's body left as he watched Alexi
leave. The young man tossed to blaster onto the ground next to the
two goons and made his way back inside the club.
As he stepped inside, as round of applauds and cheers went up
around the room. Obi-Wan ignored it all and walked over to the bar,
tolerating the slaps on the backs from people he didn't even know.
After ordering a drink from the bartender he runs his hands through
his tousled hair and closed his eyes, not even bothering to
acknowledge the woman who had come up to his side.
"That was quite a show." Kiara said. She stood between the stool
Obi-Wan was seated in and the one next to him.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes and looked sideways at her. "Believe me
that was no show. That was in fact very real." The bartender slide
his drink in front of him. Obi-Wan grasped the glass and took a
sip.
"I'm sorry if I offended you. This place isn't exactly known for
brawls. Watching you out there was like seeing something from an
old holovid." She ordered herself a drink and slide up onto the
stool next to him. "You remember me right?" She waited for him to
reply but he just looked down into his glass. "Hadrea Nabal."
Again she waited but no reply came. This one wasn't going to be
easy. "Oh, so you're a the strong, silent type. All brawn and no
brains. Is that it?"
He took another sip of his drink. "If that's what you want to
believe your welcome to it. Personally, I don't like giving much
about myself out in the open." He gave her another sideways look
"Much like you." That last statement caught her off guard. He
couldn't know who she was. Could he? She was certain she had never
been on this planet or in this sector even. She recovered from the
shock, needing all her wits about her. She was getting the feeling
that her plans were not going to go exactly as she had hoped but
she should at least get a little something for all her trouble.
She slide down from her stool and leaned in close to him, placing
on hand on his shoulder and letting the other one lightly skim
across the front of his tunic. "I don't know what you mean by that.
I'm an open book. Ask me anything."
"What do you want?" His patience wearing thin.
"I want to know you."
He turned and looked at her fully for the first time. His sapphire
eyes revealing all that he had seen in his lifetime. None of it
good. She leaned away slightly as he spoke, "You don't want to know
that. If you knew of the things I have done, you wouldn't want to
be around me. You'd run as far away as you could." His tone was
almost sad. She let her arms drop from him and she backed away,
unnerved. He stared at her for a moment then turned back to his
drink. Kiara hurried out of the club.
On the other side of the room, Rayv had returned to her seat and
watched the exchange between Obi-Wan and Kiara with great interest.
**
Nad walked down the corridor towards the lounge. They had been trying to track down Obi-Wan for nearly two hours now and had only run into dead ends. As much as she liked the kid he could be a real pain in the butt sometimes. Albeit that most of his faults were because of serious issues that he needed to over come.
The door to the lounge slid open and Nad stopped dead in her tracks as she saw a familiar person sitting causally in the lounge, talking with Mig, as though the person had only been gone a two days instead of two years. Nad barely noticed the other three people present in the lounge. "Rayv!" She barked a laugh, "Ha! I told you, you'd miss it!"
Rayv grinned slightly, "Hate to disappoint you, but I'm here on other business. I have a few words I want to share with Jilt," She then motioned over to her three Jedi guests. "And these fine people wish to see Kenobi."
Nad eyed the three strangers. The lightsabers that hung from their belts did not go unnoticed by her. "What do the Jedi want with young gun?"
Rayv shook her head and waved her off. "It's a long story that we don't have time to go into right now. They really need to speak with him."
"That's where the problem lies." She was about to elaborate when her com- link began beeping. She gave an apologetic smile as she unclipped it from her belt. "This better be good."
Erik's voice came through over the other end of the com-link. "I got a lead on him."
