Chapter Ten
Exa Karr watched as his spherical surveillance droid floated through the air above the rear entrance to the arena. He sat in the back of a repulsorlift truck that was disguised as a utility repair vehicle. He even had a Pixelito City Power Company uniform hanging in the back, just in case he needed to fool anyone who got curious.
His vehicle sat in the public parking lot outside of the arena, inconspicuous amongst the thousands of other vehicles. There were several vidscreens in the truck, one of them showing a Holonet feed from inside the arena. Lehal Jak's match with the Zygerrian had just ended and the announcers were speaking with several retired fighters, discussing the match. Part of Exa wished he could compete in the tournament. As a Mandalorian, learning to fight was a part of his childhood. However, a big part of Mandalorian training involved fighting with weapons and utilizing a suit of combat armor. The restriction on attacks meant to kill during the bouts would rule out a lot of the attacks his father had taught him. He also doubted the referees would let him bring concealed blasters or vibroknives onto the mat.
An alert chimed from the screen that showed a video stream from the droid's cameras. A group of Zygerrians, five of them, had gathered around the dumpsters near the back entrance. They spread out, utilizing their feline heritage to move silently. It looked like they were preparing for an ambush.
Exa began to reach for his comlink, but then paused. Uraala was paying him to observe Lehal Jak, not to rescue him. If he warned the fighter somehow, say by ordering the surveillance droid to buzz around the Zygerrians and blow their cover, it would signal to Jak that someone was watching him, which could alter his behavior and render any intelligence gathered unreliable.
Several minutes ticked by, but eventually the Zygerrian's target emerged from the back door. Jak stepped out towards the parking lot and seemed about to walk amongst the Zygerrians. Then he paused.
Exa ordered the droid to zoom in on Jak's face. The human glanced from side to side towards the Zygerrians. Their bodies were flattened atop the dumpster containers...there was no way he could have spotted them visually. Jak swung his duffel bag over his shoulder and then broke into a sprint.
The Zygerrians lept from their cover. Jak had almost made it through the ambush...if he had merely walked at a casual pace he would have been surrounded. Instead only two Zygerrians were near enough to immediately threaten him.
Jak moved with unnatural speed. The human ducked under a clawed swipe from the first attacker and then spun a kick into the back of his head, sending the Zygerrian tumbling to the ground. He caught a stabbing jab from the other and pulled, dislocating the alien's arm with unnatural strength.
The other three were upon him, but rather than run he fought back. With a firm grip still intact on the second Zygerrian's forearm he threw his body sideways. The second Zygerrian collided with the third and Jak aimed a kick at the second's stomach. Both of them went flying into the nearest dumpster.
The fourth Zygerrian finally managed to land an attack, swiping his claws down Jak's back. The human cried out in pain but managed to step out of the way as the fifth Zygerrian tried to trip him. He caught a stiff jab meant for his face from the fourth Zygerrian and pulled him inwards, following up with a punch to the face. The Zygerrian fell backwards, his nose smashed, and hit the ground.
The fifth Zygerrian kicked Jak in the side, knocking him over. Jak rolled away, avoiding a jumping slice attack from the Zygerrian's clawed feet. The Zygerrian kicked out, aiming to strike Jak in the face, but the human was ducking out of the way before the foot even rose. Jak landed four punches in quick succession, two on each side of the ribs and two in the stomach. The last Zygerrian crumbled to the ground.
"Looks like he didn't need my help," Exa said, his brows raised in surprise. He placed his comlink back in his pocket. "Maybe this guy has the Force after all."
oOoOo
Uraala heard a bright chirping alert beep loudly, centimeters from her face. She grunted and rolled over in bed, grabbing her comlink from the bed stand. She flicked the button on the side, silencing the alert. She turned over on her back and sat upright. The space beside her that Aramis should have occupied was empty. She glanced around the room quickly and found him sitting in front of the bed, facing the wall of transparisteel. Morning light shone through the glass, reflecting off his body, making him seem like he was glowing. He was still and unmoving, only the soft rise and fall of his chest differentiating him from a statue. She smiled and watched the muscles on his back for a moment.
Reluctantly she activated her comlink. "Yes, what do you want?"
"You sound like you just woke up," Exa said.
"You sound like you've been up all night," Uraala responded. She threw back her covers and got out of bed.
"I've been working, remember."
"Yeah. How is that going?" she asked, slowly trundling out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen. She punched a few buttons on the control panel and watched as her caf brewer got to work.
"Quite well, actually," Exa answered. "Lehal Jak isn't a hard man to follow. He sticks to public transit, lives in a small apartment in the southern part of the city. Did you watch his match last night?"
"No, I fell asleep during it at the medcenter."
"Well, he fought the same Zygerrian that your boyfriend defeated in his first bout."
"I'm assuming he defeated him as well."
"He did. Apparently the Zygerrian didn't take to kindly to his second defeat. He had a group of his friends ambush Jak as he left the arena."
Uraala's eyes widened. "What happened?"
"He took them apart. The Zygerrians hid well...there should have been no way he knew they were waiting for him, but he seemed to know an ambush was coming."
"You think he does have the Force, like Aramis suspects?"
"I think it's increasingly likely."
"Okay, thanks for the intel. You'll continue to keep tabs on him?"
"Yeah, I got some droids following him around. He hasn't left his apartment yet. In the meantime I'm working on hacking through Malastare's public records. I should have more info by the end of the day."
"Thanks pateesa," Uraala said, holding a mug underneath her brewer and allowing it to fill with caf.
"I called you this early to alert you about the Zygerrian. If he tried to get revenge on Jak he might got after your boyfriend as well."
"His name is Aramis, you should use it," Uraala said, taking a long sip of caf. "Okay, I have another job for you. You can farm this one out to one of your employees. I want to know where this Zygerrian and his friends live."
"Alright. You just want intel or…."
"I can handle the rest," Uraala said, smiling.
oOoOo
Kashtar sat in his apartment, his clawed hands intertwined over his mouth. His friends, in the various beaten and bruised states that Lehal Jak had left them in, sat around him. A large vidscreen at the front of the room displayed the live video feed from the arena. Aramis, the fighter that had handed him his first defeat, was about to start his third bout, this time against a Bothan fighter.
Kashtar had expected to do much better. He had been a soldier on his native homeworld of Zygerria, serving in one of the nationalized slaver companies that had started up once his people had joined the Separatist cause. He had fought on multiple worlds, helping to round up fresh captives in a bid to restart his species' traditional industry. But the Republic, led by the Jedi, had once again foiled their plans. That the Jedi had been exterminated by the Empire was the one consolation prize brought by the end of the Clone Wars.
He watched as Aramis' match began. He adopted the same relaxed posture he had used against Kashtar. The blue skinned alien ducked out of the way as the Bothan leapt into a flying kick. Aramis spun around and tried to counter punch but the Bothan leapt once again, rolled onto the floor, and tried to kick Aramis' feet out from under him. Aramis held firm and tried to punch the Bothan, but the fur covered mammalian rolled out of the way. The Bothan rolled backwards onto his feet and then jumped straight into the air as Aramis attempted to land another punch. The Bothan's kick lacked significant force but succeeded in pushing back the larger combatant.
The bout continued on in much the same way, with the Bothan jumping, rolling, and kicking. The blows did little damage but Aramis was unable to match the Bothan's speed. Kashtar knew that, if he was fighting against the Bothan, he would have ripped the furry little man to shreds by now. At two losses and no victories he would need to win his next three bouts if he wanted a guaranteed spot in the tournament's elimination round.
Aramis' match continued into the sixth minute. The blue skinned man had yet to land a single blow against the Bothan, but the smaller alien was beginning to tire. He still juked and weaved every time Aramis attempted to counter attack, but was no unable to land any strikes of his own. The Bothan jumped backwards, evading a punch, and then glanced around, realizing he had finally been backed into the corner of the matt.
Aramis held his forearms up, blocking a flurry of strikes from the Bothan. The Bothan kicked out, underneath Aramis' guard and striking him in the stomach. But the kick seemed to do little damage. Aramis reached out and grabbed the Bothan, who could not leap backwards due to the risk of leaving the mat. Aramis wrapped his arms around the Bothan's head and struck out with a knee, landing his first blow of the bout.
The Bothan tried to break free, striking out with a series of punches to Aramis' ribs, but he could do nothing to stop the repeated knees Aramis used to rob the Bothan of his ability to breath. When the Bothan could barely stand without Aramis holding him upright he simply pushed backwards on his fur covered chest. The Bothan fell backwards, landing outside of the mat. The buzzer went off and Aramis claimed his third victory. His place in the elimination round was all but guaranteed.
A comlink chirped from across the room and Kashtar watched as one of his friends answered. "They've announced your opponent for tonight," the Zygerrian announced.
"Who is it?" Kashtar asked.
"The Noghri."
Kashtar rubbed his forehead. This was bad. Aramis had been beaten to a pulp by the Noghri, only scoring a victory out of sheer luck. Kashtar knew, deep down inside himself, he wouldn't likely fare any better. "I want you to call the boss. Tell him to send the whole crew to the arena. And that they should bring their blasters."
oOoOo
Aramis stood in the locker room in the final stages of packing his duffel bag. His time in the medcenter had mostly healed his wounds from his bout with the Noghri, but he still felt stiff and tired. His fight with the Bothan hadn't helped, having to try to keep up with all that jumping around. And he still had two fights left. He didn't know if all of this trouble was worth it anymore. He no longer needed the prize money, and with Uraala hiring Exa Karr for surveillance on Lehal Jak, he could probably figure out a better way to cross paths with the human. But he was already in the tournament, and doing well at that. It would probably raise more questions if he suddenly dropped out than if he stayed in.
He slung his bag over his shoulder and entered the corridor which led to the back of the arena. As he walked down the hall, passing by a couple of janitor droids, his stomach rumbled. He felt like he was starving. With Uraala providing him access to credits he suddenly felt like splurging.
Suddenly his comlink beeped. "This is Aramis," he answered.
"Hey, it's me," Uraala said. "I need you to stay inside the arena."
"What? Why?"
"Just trust me," she answered. "Stay inside...away from the rear entrance, if possible."
"Okay," Aramis agreed.
"I'll call you back in a bit. If you hear blasters...well, there's no need to worry. I'm not doing the shooting or being shot at. I've got people for that."
"Okay, seriously, what's going on."
"Nothing you need to worry about. Just stick around for awhile and I'll come pick you up myself."
"Alright," Aramis said, his voice full of worry. Uraala hung up, leaving Aramis staring at the rear entrance. A lone security guard, a Gran, stood at the door, checking the credentials of a pair of Zabrak trainers. Aramis frowned, turned on his heel, and headed back into the arena. Looked like he would have to settle for the greasy fare they served at the arena's food stands. He passed by a Zygerrian, who eyed him conspicuously as he turned and took the stairs that led towards the public levels of the arena.
oOoOo
Kashtar followed his friends as the stepped out of the airspeeder. He was outside of the arena, between the grand entrance and the ticket office. There were twelve of them now, each one armed with a blaster concealed under their tunic. He had other members of his group inside the arena, watching the locker rooms. They had confirmed that the Noghri had not yet arrived at the arena. The group walked along the sidewalk between the huge outer wall of the arena and the parking lot. Soon they had reached the rear entrance.
"Spread out," Kashtar ordered. "Set to stun. We just need to keep him from arriving on time." The Zygerrians took up positions across the rear entrance. Some of them moved over to the arena's loading docks, which were located nearby. He began to head inside, as he didn't want to be seen in with the group in case someone spotted him and accused him of orchestrating a plot to sabotage his opponent.
Behind him he heard a low rumble as a large repulsor lift transport settled onto the duracrete parking lot situated behind the arena. He turned as over a dozen beings, mixed species but mostly Twi'leks, exited the vehicle. He didn't immediately identify them as a threat until the long cloak of one the beings blew open, revealing an automatic blaster rifle.
He didn't have time to shout a warning to his group before the sound of blasters erupted to life. The first two Zygerrians near the dumpster dropped dead, having no idea what hit them. The others began to return fire, a slight hesitation as they switched their blasters back to lethal settings.
Kashtar ducked as a bolt sailed overhead, striking against the side of the arena and showering him in duracrete debris. He tried to make for the door but one of his friends pushed him aside, firing a blaster pistol towards the enemy. The Zygerrian's chest exploded as he was struck, his body knocking Kashtar aside as he fell.
He scrambled for his fallen friend's blaster. He spun around and fired from a crouch, striking a male Twi'lek in the shoulder. More bolts came his way, striking the dumpster and showering him in sparks. He fired wildly towards his attackers until a bolt of energy finally struck him knocking him to the ground.
Kashtar fell to the ground but remained conscious. He crawled, using the claws on his fist to pull himself between the dumpster and the arena wall. He felt his upper chest, where the bolt had left a smoking hole. His breathing was painful but he would survive. At least for the moment. The sounds of the battle continued. Behind the dumpster he couldn't see what was going on but it didn't sound like his Zygerrians were winning.
Eventually the sounds of blasters ceased. He heard footsteps approaching and a Twi'lek appeared around the corner of the dumpster. Kashtar raised his pistol but had it immediately kicked from his hand. Another Twi'lek approached from behind and he felt the barrel of a blaster place itself against the back of his head.
"You should forfeit your remaining matches," the Twi'lek in front of him said, his skin tone featuring the rutian blue color. "If you're not off Malastare by the end of the week there will be a bounty placed on your head. Do you understand?"
Kashtar growled for a moment. The barrel of the blaster pressed against his head, painfully pushing into his skull. "Yes, fine!" he reluctantly agreed.
"Don't mess with the Aven family," the Twi'lek added. "You won't be warned again."
oOoOo
Aramis stood next to a small table in the arena's concourse, eating a bowl of fried chips with shredded nerf and hot sauce toppings. If the Jedi could see what he was eating they would surely be horrified. A general alert would have been sounded if anything like this had ended up in the Temple cafeteria.
He couldn't hear the sounds of blasters from this side of the arena, but he was alerted to the emergency by the dozens of security officers who came running past, worried expressions on their faces. The holographic displays in the concourse suddenly switched from the announcers discussing the upcoming bout to security footage from outside the arena. Aramis dropped the chip he nearly had in his mouth as a group of Zygerrians were cut down, one by one, by a group mostly made up of Twi'leks. He recognized Kashtar as the Zygerrian from his fight and watched as he was struck in the chest by a blaster bolt. He crawled out of view of the security cams, disappearing behind a dumpster.
People began shouting in alarm throughout the concourse, but Aramis couldn't spot any potential danger on this side of the building. The vidscreens returned to the announcers, who began assuring their viewers that security reinforcements were on their way to the arena.
Aramis felt his comlink beep. "What did you do?" he asked.
"What had to be done," Uraala answered. "Where are you?"
"I'm on the concourse, eating."
"I'll be there, just stay put."
Aramis waited impatiently, but she didn't keep him waiting long. Soon she appeared around the curve of the arena, wearing her customary fur coat, this time over a vest and khaki pants. Two other Twi'leks flanked her, one blue, one green.
"Hey," she said as she arrived at his table.
"What did you do?" Aramis repeated.
"I removed a threat," she said. "They were going to ambush you as you left the arena. Or maybe they were after the Noghri, it's hard to say."
"First strikes aren't my way," Aramis said. "How many of them did you have killed?"
"It's not a first strike," she shook her head. "They tried to take out Lehal Jak last night. And anyway, we left their ringleader alive, Kashtar I believe his name is. He won't be fighting in the tournament any longer, however."
"I guess you were justified…" he said slowly. "You could have told me beforehand though."
"I knew you wouldn't be happy about it, and I wanted you to focus on your fight," Uraala said with a shrug. She glanced at the Twi'leks guarding her. "You boys can take off. I'll be fine." They exchanged glances but nodded. "Don't give me that look."
"What look?" Aramis asked, not aware that he was making any look.
"That disapproving look. I know you may have forgotten because of my sweet exterior, but I am a gangster pateesa. You think my family built an empire by being nice to everyone?"
"No. But this is the first time you've ordered a hit since I've been around. I thought I might have been having a positive influence on you."
"It wasn't a hit," Uraala said, rolling her eyes. "I had my people come prepared for a fight, but I didn't know they would be armed like that. I wasn't here to kill Kashtar, just to scare him off."
"Did you lose anybody?"
"Three guys."
"Were they family?"
"One was a second cousin. Or a third cousin...I get families ties confused at that point. The other two were hired help."
"Sorry," he said.
"Growing up in this family, you get used to losing people," she said, sighing heavily. Aramis realized that the sigh was due to fatigue, and not grief. It was almost time for another of her treatments.
"Let's get out of here," Aramis said, abandoning the last of his chips. They made their way down the concourse. When they were out of view a hungry Dug jumped onto the table and stole the rest of his food.
