Star Wars : The New Sith Crisis

Close call

Coming into Nar Shadaa, Don piloted the Asteroid Skipper down onto a small landing lot . Next to him , Rorn charged blasters and wiped a little carbon-scoring off their barrels .

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Rorn, Wik and Don walked down the busy alley and watched the milling throngs warily . Don had noticed , much to his annoyment that Rorn's outfit fit in much better than Don's ragged pilot's coveralls . At least, he thought grimly , At least I'm wearing a blaster . Seeing that everyone was wearing the uniform weapon of choice, they had opted to not leave their guns in the ship . Wik more than fit in with his vast array of legal and illegal weapons . A customized blaster pistol rode his left thigh, while a long vibroknife rode his right . His belt was arrayed with several power-packs, another pistol in a cross-draw holster and another vibro-blade . Under his right arm was a tiny needle-beamer blaster , for use as a hold-out gun . On his back was holstered a very large blaster rifle , of the type illegal in over seventy known star systems . From a belt crossing Wik's chest hung a variety of explosive devices .Fragment grenades, thermal detonaters, remote charges . A few of each . Hidden in his gloves were dart launchers, and a tiny wrist rocket launcher . Wik was a walking tank . He wore a leather scarf over the lower half of his face just because he liked the arrogant, dangerous look in gave to him . Rorn walked up to a fruit vendor and selected three small fruits of the sort that the vendor assured him " were safe for humanoid consumption ." He tossed one to Don and another to Wik , and took a juicy bite out of his own as he tossed a deci-cred to the vendor . Don flicked a large worm off and ran his fruit under a fresh water spigot, gaining the threats and curses of the Devoranian owner . Wik gazed at his fruit and then tossed it to a group of beggars who at once began to fight over it . Rorn shrugged, thoroughly enjoying his own fruit . Don led them up to a dented and stained blast door ." Now whatever happens in here, just let it happen . Unless of course they're trying to kill you and don't let your're weapons out of sight ." He then ran a data card through an almost hidden slot and punched in a code on the pad that appeared . The door shuddered in a attempt to open and then slid back down . Don frowned and banged on the door ." Keldor, open up right now or my friends here will blast it open ." Rorn looked at Wik who grabbed a timed charge . Don waved a hand at them urgently," Not really, but he values his property too much to let it be damaged ." He smiled as the door shuddered once more and rose , revealing a passageway crammed with a motley assortment of thugs from different solar systems who grasped blasters, vibro-blades, thermal grenades, fusion cutters, and an atomic destabilizer ." Oh, it seems Keldor has upgraded a bit ." Don said a little uneasily . Rorn glared at his friend as they were roughly ushered inside the long passage way . " I thought you said he was a cheap no-good, ugly smelly idiot ." Don shrugged," I guess he's a rich, no-good, ugly , smelly idiot now ." Wik who hadn't said a word yet, slapped a groping Gammorean hand away from his blaster . As they were shoved inside a large amphitheater, Don raised his arms and said ." Keldor , hows everything been going for you ? Wow, you look as good as ever ." Rorn covered a smile as he recognized the alien sitting on a large throne-like chair in the center of the large room . Givin were not exactly the embodiment of beauty ." What do you want DonHalerrt ? Last time you were here, you decided to leave us for the Jedi . Did they reject you as well ?" Keldor said, his voice like the grating of nails in a grinder ." Oh no, I return as a Jedi initiate ." Don laughed ." Then show me your Jedi Lightsaber . Prove that you are Jedi ." Keldor demanded . Don looked to Rorn who shook his head very slowly ." Oh but I can't . Mere Jedi Iniates are not allowed lightsabers." Don lied . Keldor shook a limb warningly," Then why have you come here, DonHalerrt ?" Don stepped forward a bit and said ." For information regarding the whereabouts of several of our friends . Jedi, gone missing several days ago ." Keldor thought for and instant and said ." Twelve hundred credits, and come back tommorow ." Don nodded and waved for his friends to follow him out .

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Once on the street, Rorn grabbed Don's shoulder and yelled ," Twelve hundred credits ? You are going to pay him twelve hundred credits ?" Don nodded and held out a small banker's chit . " This holds a whole lot more than that ." he said, waving the plastic money back and forth before Rorn's eyes . Wik grabbed the chit and slipped it into a hidden pouch in his shirt ." That much money and your're waving it around on Nar Shaddaa ?" he asked , annoyed . Don paled and whipped his head around, staring at all the aliens around him . Rorn shook his head and said ," Man, I thought you grew up here ."

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Later, the trio sat in a small cafe that Rorn had suggested they try . Much to Don's chagrin, the menus were not in Basic or any onther language that he recognized . Wik and Rorn seemed to be having no trouble at all and ordered their food with ease . Don gulped and closed his eyes . With a blind stab of his finger down onto the menu, he told the Twilek waitress," I'll have this ." Rorn and Wik noticed with glee, the female Twilek's lekku headtails were shivering in disgust . " Don, wow . Your actually gonna eat rector kalblat ." Rorn said, trying to hide his grin . Don nodded and asked." Whats that ?" Wik pointed at the menu and said ." What you ordered ." After a few minutes, during which Don noticed every meal being served and imagned his food looking like that, their food arrived . Rorn's meal was a large sandwhich with a small serving of a multi-colored salad . Wik had a large plate of nerf stew with flatbread on the side . And Don 's food looked like a very large shovelfull of huge grubs and insects, lightly seasoned, and roasted to a slight brown . Rorn and Wik burst out laughing at the look on Don's face . Don saw the mirth suddenly wiped off their faces and asked smiling." Whats wrong guys? Did some of my food fall on yours ?" Wik shook his head and then nodded at something behind Don . Don slowly turned to see Keldor and about twenty of his goons . All didn't look happy . Don raised a hand weakly , " uh, hi Keldor . Hungry ?" he asked, indicating the plate of insect life . Keldor's all ready mournful expression lengthened even more." You lied to me . Sources say you are Jedi . Have been seen with a green-bladed lightsaber .How do I know you have not come to shut me down ?" Don looked to Rorn and Wik and sent a signal reverberating through the Force to Rorn and a hand signal to Wik . " Would a Jedi do this ?" he asked the Givin, grimly . Rorn's hand moved impossibly fast and brought up his blaster just as fast even as Wik's own weapons appeared to leap into his hands . Don grabbed the Givin's long neck and flipped him over his head . AS Keldor landed, his vision blacked out for a second and when he regained it, Don's blaster was pressed flat against his forehead . " Tell your boys to strip their weapons of ammo and to toss them into the pot over there . Don said pointing to a seething cauldron of stew . Rorn looked at Don from where he stood with his blaster against a Rodian's temple and his knife at a scruffy human's throat . " And tell them to hurry ." he growled . Wik had both of his blasters covering thugs and between his teeth was a tiny thermal detonater , so he didn't say anything , but the appearance of haste was there . Keldor waved a manipulatory limb at his thugs who , very hurredly , stripped their weapons of power sources and chucked them into the foul smelling concoction in the pot . Don grinned and motioned for Rorn and Wik to edge toward him, while still keeping their blasters trained on the vast array of sentient scum . Wik removed the detonater from his mouth and slipped it back into his arsenal . Don raised his blaster slightly and indicated for Keldor to rise and follow him . " Come if you want to live ." he said quietly .

Posted by Nate at June 24, 2004 05:29 PM