William Graff slowly yet gracefully walked the halls of the Jedi Temple located on Coruscant. Though the temple continued to be a center of learning and knowledge for Jedi's, it also became more military like with Republic officials speaking to the Jedi Counsel for advice and developing strategies to fight the True Sith.
Ironically, the temple has also begin to house Dark Jedi's. Though the two sides did not fight, they avoided each other almost completely. William recounted the events that led to the Galaxy's current situation. Even with the return of Revan and the Exile and the unification of the Sith, Mandalorians, and Republic, they were still losing. The True Sith continued to win with their overwhelming numbers and advanced technology. Therefore, the Sith and Jedi Masters concluded that the only way to win would be to kill the four Dark Lords. These were Darth Util, Darth Morfano, Darth Auroris, and Darth Elderis.Revan himself had chosen the team to lead this operation, but some of the member had not yet made it to Coruscant.
Now he waited to see who his team members would be, and the briefing of the mission.
Vynn looked up at the spires of the Jedi Temple. He hadn't set foot in its halls for over 15 years, yet it was different somehow. Possibly because of the cohabitation of both Jedi and Sith.
As he ascended the great steps before him, he thought about the Holo message that had brought him here. It had simply asked for him to go to the temple, and find a man named Graff.
As he reached the main hall, he grabbed a Jedi by the arm, pulling her aside.
"Graff." he said, looking down the hallway. "That way" she said, wrestling from his grip, sprinting away. He continued down the hall, stopping at a door. He used the Force to look inside. There he saw a man, clad in black, sat at a table.
He opened the door, and took a good look at the man he could only assume was Graff. He distrusted people who wore masks. It meant they had something to hide.
He walked to a chair, sat down, and threw his legs up on the table.
"Well, i'm here"
William looked up from his position at the table to see a man with a pony tail and tattered Jedi robes. William smiled politely, not that anyone could see it due to his mask and gave a slight nod.
"Hello. My name is William Graff."
"So you're Graff, huh? You already know my name, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I expected someone taller." Vynn looked the man up and down again - It was hard to read his body language, and impossible to read his face. He could tell this much - he was young. He removed his legs from the table, and leant towards the man.
"I gather this is important? That message of yours drew me away from a pretty good game of Pazaak, and two very engaging young Twi'Leks" Vynn cursed himself - he hadn't had that much fun in ages.
"So what is it the Order wants? I doubt this is to catch up on old times. I sense that there's a job offer in here somewhere. In that case, it's simply two questions - how far, and how much"
And with that, he sat back again.
"I am not the one in charge here, and I only contacted you because the Jedi Order told me to," replied William. "The Order recruited each of us because of our abilities and talents to track down and kill The Four True Sith Lords. Darth Auroris is first up on the list." With one hand, William took off his mask exposing his handsome features, and placed it on the table.
"How far will depend upon how fast we find Darth Auroris's location and as for how much, you will have to ask Revan himself when he gets here. But I assume it should be more than enough to make your sacrifice worthwhile," William said with a gentel smile.
"Wait a minute... did you say Sith Lords?" Vynn said in near disbelief.
He looked at the mans now uncovered face. There were'nt any scars, so Vynn wondered why he'd bothered with a mask in the first place. But he could tell that there was a definate touch of darkness about the man.
"You want me to kill a karking Sith Lord? Is that what this is all about?" Vynn couldn't believe it - If the order wanted to kill Sith Lords, then surely there were better suited people.
"Now, I haven't taken nearly enough blaster shots to the head, or drank enough to Juma to consider this even a bad idea. But, if you insist on this, I'll come along. Provided the pay's good..."
Bail ducked from a Revans lightsaber, and was about to strike Revan when he got pushed into the wall. Revan walked towards him and prepareing to make a final blow. But he stopped and said "The Republic is in danger...I will call for you in the future, I will need you...And you will come when the time is right..."
Bail woke up from the dream. He shook his head and threw some water on his face to wake up good. He wondered 'Why would I have this dream now?'. He went to his small Datapad and noticed a message. A message that said that Revan and the Exile were returning. 'The republic is in danger...' He thought. Maybe the dream wasn't a dream but more of a vision, a vision where Revan called for him. He scolled down the datapad and saw information of a big meeting in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Sith, Jedi, Mandalorians and Republic... 'Enemies from the past...this can't be good!'. Bail packed his things and went out of his courters on Nar Shadaa. He headed for the cantina to get a refreshing drink, but he noticed the time and knew that if he were about to get on the next flight to Coruscant he had to hurry.
-x-
When Bail walked in the temple, he saw two guys talking. And one of them said:
"You want me to kill a karking Sith Lord? Is that what this is all about? Now, I haven't taken nearly enough blaster shots to the head, or drank enough to Juma to consider this even a bad idea. But, if you insist on this, I'll come along. Provided the pay's good..."
"Provided the pay's good? If this is about saving the Republic, then that should be enough pay, making people live free and in peace...proved the pay's good..." Bail said and shook his head, however he did get concerned hearing about the Sith Lord, who was it? "Any of you kids seen Revan or the one who now goes by the name the Exile? For I am in great need of speaking with them..."
Vynn turned to look at the voice that came from the doorway, the voice that had derided him for asking for payment. There stood a dark skinned man, older than him by a few years, dressed in the customary robes of a Jedi Knight.
"And who says I want to free people? I learned a long time ago that you can't change the galaxy all by yourself, so now I just get by in it. And last time I looked, all the good intentions in the world didn't get me creds to buy food... or enjoyment" he said, thinking back to those two lovely Twi'Lek ladies he'd left back at the bar. What were their names? He couldn't remember.
"And no, I haven't seen Revan. You might try asking around..."
"*sigh*...If you don't care about other people, then what are you doing here? You will probably risk your life for job who probably wont pay as much as an easier one someplace else. Besides, good deeds, aren't meant to help yourself, selfish deeds are however meant to do that...what makes a good deed is more of making things better to others and sacrifice yourself to greater good." Bail said and walked away.
After walking awhile he ran into someone he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Carth? Is that you?" Bail said, and the man looked at Bail for a while.
"B-Bail? What a pleasant suprise. I haven't seen you since the Mandalorian wars, I thought you were dead." Carth said.
"I've just been travelling around."
"For 15 years?"
"Well, I stayed in some places longer than others. But look at you, you and admiral now. Congratulations!"
"Thanks, I've been it awhile thou. Listen, I have to go, we are having a meeting at the moment so lets talk later."
"Sure, sure no problem. Could you tell Revan that I'm here?"
"Will do, see you!"
"Good bye, old friend!" Carth ran off, and Bail headed for the training grounds.
"To answer your question Vynn, we aren't going up against him one-on-one unless we wish to comitte suicide," answered William. "Hopefully by the time we find him, a group of us should be able to take care of him."
Jaq hadn't expected to receive a message from the republic to attend a mission briefing held at the Jedi Temple. His name must have brought some attention after the ammount of jobs he pulled off as a mercenary.
Though a meeting held in the Jedi Temple made him feel... uneasy. Yet he turned up. He was always up for action and glory. It was once his ways during his Mandalorian life.
He was already in the room by the time the two other men entered. The problem was that they couldn't see him. Jaq's neo-crusader armour enabled him a cloaking device, which he used generally for merc jobs and theatrics for amusement... which he was currently doing.
"And no, I haven't seen Revan. You might try asking around..."
"Though you may wanna try askng someone who is visible at present..." Jaq spoke, and turned off his cloak. "Sorry, couldn't resist" he smirked. Then his smirk turned into a serious face.
"Though you may wanna try askng someone who is visible at present..."
Vynn stood up in disbelief at the sudden appearance of a Mandalorian Warrior, seemingly out of thin air. His right hand hovered over his holster.
"You know, It's rude to drop in like that. Since when did Jedi hire Mandalorians? And going up against a Sith lord in a group isn't suicide? When did the Jedi drop the IQ requirement?"
He sat back down, wondering how he'd got himself involved in what could potentially turn into a mess at the end of a bright red lightsaber...
"You know, It's rude to drop in like that."
Jaq smirked. "I seemed to have left my manners elsewhere..." he glanced up at the gruff-man named Vynn.
When did the Jedi drop the IQ requirement?"
"Since the Mandalorian Wars when they decided to back down instead of fighting us... unlike a handful of the ones my clan fought."
Bail entered a section where he had practiced lightsaber duels many times, and often with Master Kavar, who had taught him a lot when it comes to the use of a saber in battle. It was in fact Kavar who persuade him to become a guardian in the first place. In the 'duel-arena' he saw two people, two who appeared to be Dark Jedis. They looked at Bail, smiled and gave and evil look.
"A Jedi...Jedi's are weak, pathetic...We would be able to defeat the True Sith faster without your help." One of them said.
"No, we need them... Someone has to feed the enemy canons..." the other one replied. They both started to laugh.
"And Dark Jedi's has always been so ignorant, and thought they are the real thing. I mean for instance you call yourself sith...but Sith comes from an old empire, and isn't that also a species? Either way that's not important...what is important is: 1. I'm no Jedi, 2. I would never have a problem beating childish wanna-be's!"
"Oh yeah, how did you think you were going to defeat two dark jedis?"
"A Dark Jedi is no problem and two of you...well 'The more the merrier'!" Bail smiled, the Dark Jedis activated their sabers and prepared to attack.
"ENOUGH!" A voice shouted, "Put down your lightsaber!" an other Dark Jedi entered. "And you" looking at Bail " get out of here, before I kill you myself!"
'Like if you would manage to do that...' Bail thought, and went back to the hallways of the temple.
"Back down? I didn't back down. I tasted your 'honour' first hand - in a prison camp. Is it honourable to shackle people day and night? Make prisoners fight other prisoners? Fight for food? Where's the honour in that?"
Vynn thought back to those times. He'd almost broken. But he was thankful. The Mandalorians had beat the weakness out of him in those three months.
"That's in the past, anyway. And we won't get far like that."
he outstretched his arm, offering the heavily armored man his hand.
"The name's Drax. A pleasure"
Zarena glanced around the halls of the Jedi Temple with a certain sense of distaste. Archways and grand staircases and gushing fountains abound. It was like nothing she'd ever seen.
Last time I was in somewhere this clean, I was hospitalized.
There were throngs of men and women bogged down in thick robes scurrying to and fro, but aside from the echoes of their footsteps and the roaring of the waterfall fountains, it was silent. She didn't like it. But needs must. She needed the money, she needed the work, she needed whatever great danger the galaxy was in now to back off before it obliterated any of her favourite cantinas.
She wandered up and down the hallways, opening doors a crack and peering in to check if it was the briefing room she was searching for. I figure it'll be the only room that isn't full of Jedi.
Eventually she found such a room. Rather than a crowd of padawans there were a small group of misfits, all tattered cloacks and shining armour. She lifted her hands behind her head and tightened her hair bun before pushing open the door and stepping in.
"I'm looking for a briefing room," she said sharply, casting her eye over the other occupants of the hall.
"I'm looking for a briefing room,"
Vynn looked towards the door, and saw a striking, remarkable figure. He withdrew his offered hand from the Mandalorian. As he approached, he looked carefully. Carefully at the bright orange hair, the blue eyes framed by a deep purple, the same purple over her lips. And then he looked down to her waist, and saw the Vibroblade and blaster pistol. 'Play it careful, Vynn' he thought to himself.
Vynn's interest had definately been aroused.
"You've found, sister" he said as he stopped in front of her.
"The name's Vynn. And yours is?"
"You've found, sister."
Zarena breathed a silent sigh of relief. One more wrong turn and I'd have been on my way back to Zeltros. One of the room's men had turned to greet her. Quickly, she scanned his appearance. Rough features and a small beard, the right kind of scruffy. His robe was tattered, probably an old favourite that had been through a few scrapes.
"The name's Vynn. And yours is?"
Her lips flexed into a smile. This could be interesting.
"I'm Zarena. Zarena Tatela. Mercenary extrordinaire."
He returned her smile with a flash of tooth.
"A pleasure, Zarena. last name's Drax, Bounty Hunter and Jedi Extrordinaire"
And suddenly, all thoughts of pazaak and Twi'leks left his mind.
Bail returned to the room where he've met the pay-me-well guy. He looked around and noticed certain more people. He sighed.
'Geez, this really must be a bad situation, asking for scruffy-looking people with no sense of duty.' He thought. 'And Mandies?!?' He noticed the Mandalorian who had entered the room while he was gone. Bail went and fetched a drink, and then stood leaning against the wall and looked at Vynn. 'Who is he? I recognize him from somewhere...He is obviously a force sensitive, but...hmm...' He thought
Vynn started to lead Zarena towards a chair by the window. As he did, he noticed the haughty Jedi who'd appeared early return. 'Great. Another lecture' he thought.
He turned back to Zarena, concentrating her rather than the Jedi.
"Zarena, this is Graff, and well, I don't know these other two gentlemen". He noticed the newly returned Jedi staring at him from across the room, and a sense of past familiarity pulsed through him.
Bail went towards Vynn and said:
"You participated in the Mandalorian War didn't you? I'm sure of it, you were one of the youngest to join." Bail's face turned sad. "I was 21-22 when I joined in the war, yet you must have been very young...The war was hardest for the youngest, they didn't have enough training, but Revan welcomed everyone who wanted... maybe a misstake, maybe it wasn't..." He remembered all the horrible stories the youngest had experienced, they were indeed unlucky. "I'm sorry I could help you and your comrades in the war...Listen, you probably don't want my pity, so I'll leave you alone now."
"Zarena, this is Graff, and well, I don't know these other two gentlemen".
William gave a polite nod of his head and a polite smile at the orange haired woman. "How do you do?"
With a smirk set on her face, Zarena stayed a few paces behind Vynn as they walked away from the door and towards the chairs lined up along the wall.
"Zarena, this is Graff, and well, I don't know these other two gentlemen."
She tipped her head in acknowledgement to Graff and the others, all the while letting her eyes flit between the occupants of the room. Another Jedi, she guessed, swathed in black. That would be Graff. A man in a set of Mandalorian armour, presumably a Mandalorian himself. And a peculiar man with short hair that seemed to be concerning himself with Vynn. Something about the wars.
As she glanced at Graff he returned her nod and followed up with a polite smile. "How do you do?"
"Pleasure to meet you, Graff," she replied. She let her eyes flit around the room once more. "Quite the motley crew we have here."
"The war? Sure, I fought in the war. Only about 15 I guess. I don't remember you. Course, I don't remember the last three months of that war"
So that was it. He thought. Another veteran.
"And you'd be right. I don't want your pity. But you don't have to leave me alone. Just don't talk about it, kay?"
Bail looked at Vynn. "Fair enough! I'm Bail by the way. If you have any question, feel free to ask..." Bail smiled. "Hmm.. I haven't been here for a long time, I wonder if the food is better nowadays." Aservice droid passed him and he grabbed it. "Hello there, droid! I would like something to eat, could you take care of this?"
"Yes, of course master!"
"Now now, off you go shoo shoo!"
"Oh my!" The droid said.
Bail. He tried to place the name, and the face, but couldn't. He didn't want to be thinking about the war again, the battles fought, the lives lost.
He spun on his chair to Zarena. "You know why they want you? I'll tell you. They want us to kill a Sith Lord. That's right. A Sith Lord"
Part of him wondered why he was still here. He wanted to see how this played out. That, and he'd things about Zeltrons. Interesting things...
"Taking advantage of our droids I see," chuckled Revan strolling into the room. Carth Onasi followed close behind smiling at Bail. "It seems that this is all the people that showed up to your mission briefing. More may come with time."
Carth scanned everyone in the room and began speaking. "You have been selected based on your unique skills to hunt down the four True Sith Lords, Darth Util, Darth Morfano, Darth Auroris, and Darth Elderis."
"As far as we can tell, Darth Auroris is the weakest among them so he's your first target," supplied Revan. He then placed a holodisc on the table and played it. "We sent Vilad Katan or better known as the Exile to dig up some dirt on Darth Auroris."
A hologram appeared of a black haired man wearing dark jedi robes. "From what I have gathered about Darth Auroris," began Vilad, "he is a very powerful True Sith Lord and is not to be underestimated. He was born on Hitfa, a recently discovered planet in the Unknown Regions, and focuses mainly in lightsaber combat, but his Force powers are also incredible. He's a blue Twi'Lek, but looks more gray due to the twistings of the dark side. That's all the information I've gathered about Darth Auroris. His home planet might be a good place to start though." And with that the transmission ended.
"You are to leave as soon as you are ready which should be in a day or two," said Carth. "Your method of transportation and home will be The Blade Glider. She's a fast ship and was designed by the Jedi Guardian/genius mechanic Bao-Dur, and by Sith and Republic engineers alike. So far, it's the fastest ship we have, but you'll get to see that later."
"Now any questions?" asked Revan.
"Yeah, I got questions" Vynn said as he stood up, taking in Revan's appearance. He hadn't seen him in quite some time.
"Firstly, Why can't you do it? You taught the Mandalorians a thing or two, and you almost conquered the galaxy" Vynn was looking forward to Revan's reasoning.
"Secondly, Why us? And don't give me that 'only you can succeed' rubbish - It seems to me you're being cautious" He looked around the room.
"If a group of worthless nobodies like us - no offence, guys" It was true, after all - none of the assembled people could be known as heroes, that Vynn could tell.
"So if we can pull this off, then you save your best people." That was the only reason Vynn could think of for his being hired.
"And third" he said, after a deep breath, "How much is this worth?"
"Secondly, Why us? And don't give me that 'only you can succeed' rubbish - It seems to me you're being cautious"
"Adding to the argument, I suppose you could have hired some assassins to do the job." said the ex-Mandalorian.
"And third" he said, after a deep breath, "How much is this worth?"
"Heh, listen to yourself..." Jaq gave an amused look to Vynn. "You seem to have a fetice for credits!"
"First off, I almost conquered the galaxy because I am a master stratigist with no equal," replied Revan Therefore out on the battlefield commanding legions of troops is my natural enviroment, not secretly completing missions though I do have a lot of experience. And how would the Sith, Republic, and Mandalorians think if the legendary Revan wasn't there to fight alongside with them?"
"Secondly, this mission is to be done in secret. Darth Auroris is already hard enough to find, and since I'm recognizable everywhere I go, Auroris would tighten up his security or simply flee. That's why the I came up with the plan to recruit some 'nobodies' to do the job.
"Thirdly, all of you will receive 200,000 credits when the job is complete. Except for Graff since he's doing this out of the goodness of his heart."
William tilted his head and shrugged.
"There is also a fourth reason however. My wife, Bastila has the powerful Battle Meditation. I assume you all know what that is. It is one of the most valuable weapons we have that deems us a threat to the True Sith Empire. If she died, hope for our survival would be very low. So who better to protect her than a former Sith Lord and trustworthy friends?
"Satisfied?"
"Satisfied?"
"I suppose..." Jaq spoke. "Though I kinda figured from the start that Shan won't be accompanying us."
"I have a question myself; whats this Hifta like? Is it hole of a place, like some of the worlds I've been too?"
"You know why they want you? I'll tell you. They want us to kill a Sith Lord. That's right. A Sith Lord."
One of Zarena's eyebrows shot up, twisting her face into a perplexed expression. The sad thing is, I almost expected something like this...
However, before she had time to reply, they were joined by two men whose faces seemed familiar to her. Revan and Onasi, two of the darling heroes of the Republic.
"You have been selected based on your unique skills to hunt down the four True Sith Lords, Darth Util, Darth Morfano, Darth Auroris, and Darth Elderis."
Zarena leaned back in her chair and folded her arms, muttering to herself under her breath. "And I thought one Sith Lord would have been bad enough..."
She listened in silence to the hologram's description of Darth Auroris, and Vynn's queries, as she tried to gauge the situation.
"Thirdly, all of you will receive 200,000 credits when the job is complete."
At face value, 200,000 was a lot of credits. But considering the danger, Zarena was still in two minds about whether it matched the value of their mission. That had better be per lord.
She leaned forward in her chair and perched her chin on her hand. "What are we getting in the way of supplies? Equipment? You'd better not be sending us off empty handed."
While the other one's were talking Bail, sat quite and ate, he didn't even look at Revan. When he finnished eating he just said:
"Yes, I like taking advantage of droids...do you have a problem with that?" Bail smiled.
"To bring down a lightsaber-freak, such as myself, you would need a lightsaber, and we are one, two and even three people here who can handle a lightsaber. We are given a ship allready, so the only supplies we would need is medics, I'm no good healer myself so you might want that. And of course we need food!" Bail said and smiled.
"You seem to have a fetice for credits!" he heard the Mandalorian say
"No, I just want to make sure that this is worthwhile - I'll agree that these sith are dangerous - but I ain't doing this out of the goodness of my own heart. Hell, why not make it 400? We are going to fight past legions of kriffing Sith, after all" Vynn then turned towards Revan, to listen to his answers.
"First off, I almost conquered the galaxy because I am a master stratigist with no equal," Well, to Vynn, Revan was certainly the most arrogant Jedi with no equal, if that was the attitude he had. 'So that's why you almost lost a Malachor?' he thought to himself.
Vynn thought he heard Zarena mutter something about one sith being bad enough.
"Tell me about it" he retorted, whispering back.
"Satisfied?" He heard Revan say.
"For now" he said, leaning back in his chair, mulling over the task ahead.
"...so the only supplies we would need is medics, I'm no good healer myself so you might want that. And of course we need food!"
William answered, "I'm a pretty good healer and I also know the basic stuff, but we'll probably want to take some medpacs just in case."
"If your not satisfied with the amount of credits, we'll up it to 250,000 per Sith Lord. You'll have to get the equipment on your own, by buying it or stealing it of the bodies of your enemies," said Revan. "Any other credits you earn will be yours to keep. And from what I know of Hifta, it's a bit like Tatooine. With vast deserts and dangerous wildlife. Now, are there any more questions?"
"If your not satisfied with the amount of credits, we'll up it to 250,000 per Sith Lord."
Two hundred and fifty thousand credits times four Sith Lords... That's one million credits! Zarena smiled, contented, and returned to sitting cross-armed.
"Now, are there any more questions?"
"I'm satisfied," Zarena stated, leaning back in her chair and crossing one leg over the other. Her usual sword and blaster had served her well for years, so with luck they'd be good enough to let her hold off most of what they would find. Besides, the rest of the group seemed tough enough. Once a Jedi stopped talking they could usually fight well enough, and she counted three in their little party.
So for the moment she sat in quiet contemplation, trying to gauge the reaction of the rest of her team members.
"...we'll up it to 250,000 per Sith Lord"
While it wasn't the 400,000 he'd pushed for, a million credits was a tidy sum, and he'd never make that much on any other job. That'd be enough for him to buy a ship - with enough left over for a visit to Nar Shaddaa's Red Sector.
"Hell, for a million credits, Rev, I'd fight you" Vynn said. He wasn't joking.
"So when do we leave?"
"You will leave in two days where you can gather your equipment, train, or relax here in the temple," stated Revan. "After which, you will be shown to your ship The Blade Glider by Carth and Bao-Dur. You have dormitories which you will be using in this time on the upper levels. You can't miss them. Be ready to go at 2200 hours on the third day. Good luck." Revan then left the room with Carth leaving with him.
William got up from his seat and placed his mask back on before going to the training grounds.
Great
Two days stuck around the people he'd been trying to avoid for the last 15 years - Jedi.
Well, at least he wouldn't have to pay for his room at the cantina/boarding house/dive he'd been staying at. He stood up, and started for the door.
"Well, I'm going to a cantina. Anyone wanna come?" He was out the door before he'd even finished his sentence.
"You will leave in two days where you can gather your equipment, train, or relax here in the temple."
Two days...? They called us here to tell us we'd be leaving in two days? Zarena nodded and watched Revan and Onasi leave the room. Coruscant, she reminded herself, wasn't all about the Jedi temples and babbling senate meetings. If she looked in the right places there would be plenty of fun to be had.
"Well, I'm going to a cantina. Anyone wanna come?"
Vynn seemed to have the right idea, though he'd left in a hurry before waiting for anyone to answer. Zarena rose to her feet and walked to the door, pausing to cast a furtive glance at the others loitering in the briefing room. She pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway.
"Hey, wait up!" she called sharply, her voice cutting across the awkward silence that seemed to forever hang in the corridors of the temple.
Vynn didn't turn round to acknowledge Zarena as she followed after him. They paced out of the Temple entrance hall, out into the glittering plaza of this area of Coruscant.
It was only a few minutes walk to more friendly, built-up areas, with glowing neon signs, and more aliens the further you walked away from the temple.
Vynn took a sharp turn, towards an elevator that would lead towards the true heart of Coruscant - the Entertainment District. He jumped into the elevator, fingers hovering over the control panel, ready to descend into the pulsing heart of the Galaxies busiest planet...
"Come on" he said "I know a place"
Even though she'd walked through it on the way to the temple, Zarena still couldn't help but be impressed with the streets of Coruscant. The sight of bright city lights and the streets bustling with all sorts of sentients was both exotic and familiar, reminding her of the homeworld she hadn't returned to in ten years.
Except in the streets of Zeltros, most humans are inebrated tourists. Here I'm the one gawping at the sights and asking for directions.
She noticed that Vynn had stopped by a crowded elevator, and had at last turned to acknowledge her.
"Come on," he said, "I know a place."
"Alright," Zarena grinned, catching up with Vynn, "Show me the best this planet has to offer. I'll see how it measures up."
"That depends on where you're comparing it to" He said, pressing the button so soon after she entered the door almost hit her. The elevator began a quick descent, past lots of floors, mostly containing unremarkable shops, offices and other establishments.
"It's a poor match to compare with your homeworld. I stopped off on Zeltros once... lost a week of travel, and all my creds" He smiled as thought of that week - certainly one of the most memorable of his life.
"But it's definately better than Nar Shaddaa - It's got the same atmosphere, except there aren't ryll-biting idiots on every corner trying to shake you down" Although Vynn did sometimes enjoy the local 'hospitality' of Nar Shaddaa.
The elevator screeched to a halt, and the doors opened into a busy thoroughfare. There was no natural light down here - only street lights and signs, but it was bright enough street.
Vynn strode down the street, eventually stopping at a small building at the end of the row.
"Now, this place isn't the roughest, or the smelliest, place on Coruscant but you might want to hold your nose. And keep those delicate fingers of yours attached to a weapon" He smiled as he opened the door, into the bustling cantina before them...
The elevator plunged down, down past shops, streets, and clubs, all the colours of the street signs blurring together as they flew past the corner of Zarena's eye.
"It's a poor match to compare with your homeworld. I stopped off on Zeltros once... lost a week of travel, and all my creds."
Zarena knew that she couldn't stay nostalgic of Zeltros. It had been a while. And yet she felt it was the sort of planet that would never change, not too much. "Zeltros might as well be a black hole, it sucks in every first-timer in the system for weeks at a time."
"But it's definately better than Nar Shaddaa - It's got the same atmosphere, except there aren't ryll-biting idiots on every corner trying to shake you down."
The elevator stopped and they stepped out into the neon underground of Coruscant. The bright lamps of signs and store fronts cast out clusters of coloured light across the street.
"Now, this place isn't the roughest, or the smelliest, place on Coruscant but you might want to hold your nose."
"I used to stay on Nar Shaddaa," she commented, "I've been in worse spots."
"And keep those delicate fingers of yours attached to a weapon."
"My blaster never leaves my fingers," she said, grinning wryly. The cantina door opened, a blast of music and chatter spilling out on to the street. Zarena stepped in after Vynn, and the door swung shut behind them.
Glancing around, Zarena quickly spotted the bar.
"I think drinks are in order," she called to Vynn over the music, heading into the crowds and working her way over towards the bar.
It was never quiet in here - that was why Vynn liked it - too much quiet was reminiscent of the sterile silence associated with the Jedi Temple. That, and it was sometimes amazing what you could overhear in places like this.
He turned around to find Zarena - he could see an orange topped head making it's way to the bar. Over the music he thought he could hear something.
"I think drinks are in order"
"That's the first sensible thing i've heard all day" He shouted as he pushed people out the way to get to the bar.
He perched himself on a stool. He poked the bartender opposite him.
"Hey, Krell. A double Bantha Blaster for me, and whatever the lady wants"
Zarena swung herself on to a barstool, her elbow finding itself comfortably perched on the edge of the bar. Shortly Vynn appeared on the seat next to her.
"Hey, Krell. A double Bantha Blaster for me, and whatever the lady wants."
"Just give me a shot of fizzbrew," she said. She turned her head slightly, glancing at Vynn. Probably not still a Jedi, if he was he'd have someone tailing him, telling him not to poison his body with toxins.
"I don't know about you, but I'm glad to be out of that temple. It's un-nerving for a place with that many people to be so quiet all the time."
Bail also left the temple, he didn't really liked it there, ever since he left the Jedis it seemed that all that was friendly had left, but that could depend on that all kinds of enemies were there. He headed for a place called Barin's Deep , a place of gangs and gangwar going on, it was chaotic, but the Republic chose not to interfere. He saw a Zabrak in a group of other thugs, they wore the same colors from their gang.
"Kalig Ohr!" Bail said and the Zabrak turned around. "You got something that belongs to me, and I'm here to get it!". Kalig looked scared at the sight of Bail. "You do still have it, right?"
"Of course, I mean yes, no..."
"What?" Bail said, and made an appearance of himself as if he was evil...superior...
"I...I... It...It got stolen...a day ago or something." Kalig looked scared.
"Well, I would suggest you'll get it for me."
"Of...Ofcourse, but then you'll have to do something for me."
"No! You were entrusted to keep it safe, and you lost it...you owe so get it back... NOW!"
"Yes...yes..." Kalig ran away, said something to the other thugs and they ran off.
"AND I MUST HAVE TODAY!" Bail shouted. He then sighed turned around and went to the nearest cantina. 'I can't believe that's the only attitude to deal with those scums...' he thought.
"I don't know about you, but I'm glad to be out of that temple. It's un-nerving for a place with that many people to be so quiet all the time."
"You get to used to it after a time, but it's still never easy. Specially when you come from planets like Taris, where something's always going on, or your own, where you can't move without someone saying hello" He said, in between gulps the garish pink liquid that he was sampling.
"And despite being guardians of the Republic, Jedi aren't exactly used to talking. It ruins the whole 'mysterious' act"
Upon arriving at the training grounds for Jedi's, William took a good look around. It was just as he remembered it, Masters and their apprentices going through katas or learning new Force techniques. Sensing someone behind him, William turned around but saw no one, but then looked down to see Master Vandar.
William smiled at the little alien and said, "Master Vandar, what a pleasant surprise to see you hear!"
Vandar rolled his eyes and replied,"Such a surprise to see a Jedi in a Jedi Temple."
William sheepishly replied, " Hehe... just being polite."
"I see you've grown into a very strong Jedi after you left the Order. Can't say I'm surprised."
"Your too kind Master Vandar, I'm haven't gotten that good."
"No need to be humble William. Let's just see how good you've become," and with that, Vandar ignited his green lightsaber on low intensity and lept at William.
William surprised, ignited his blue and silver lightsabers to parry Master Vandar's attack. Vandar attacked from all sides with William blocking and counter attacking with neither dueler getting the upper hand. Vandar's small size made him a small target and was therefore much harder to hit.
The rest of the Jedi's at the training grounds paused to watch this demonstration of skill and determination. In an unpredictable move, Vandar used his size to quickly slip under William's legs to get behind him before jumping up and grabbing a handful of William's robes with one hand. Vandar was quite literally standing on his opponent's back with a lightsaber pointed near his neck. However, William was able to bring his lightsaber backwards to the point where it was aimed over the Jedi Master's heart.
Sweating, Vandar said,"It seems that we are at a stalemate William. You have gotten a lot better."
William deactivated his lightsabers and Vandar got off his back. "Revan was right to select you for this mission, I believe you and your group will be just fine."
"Thank you Master Vandar, I hope so to," William and Vandar smiled to each other in a secret understanding, before they parted ways.