Quarrels and Quills

Quaxo9

Teizi Lin

Teizi's face remained impassive even as she scanned the rest of the party, seeing all eyes on her, noting the rather peculiar assortment of beings sharing the same stretch of sand. Sith, humans, Twi'lek...were the children under the umbrella cyborgs? The appearance of lightsabers in the elder Sith's hand were not a particular surprise, though that a Jedi Master was sharing the beach with him certainly was.

Stopping at a slightly exaggerated distance from the party, she nodded briefly in Pyrran's direction before slowly raising her hands into the position of a traditional greeting toward Visper. "Teizi Lin, also of the Order. An honour to meet you, Master Averrod-Iresso. I am not here for conflict." her clear blue eyes moved to Pyrran's momentarily before returning to Visper's. "My mission today is information gathering - but I believe I may have been led astray by the local chatter."

The merchants might have mentioned that a large proportion of said Sith were minors, but Teizi reluctantly admitted to herself that it wouldn't have mattered even if she had been told. She had fought many young apprentices and her own padawan could be considered little more than a child. Such was the life.

"I apologize for the interruption. I see I have disturbed your ... vacation. If I might ask one question of you, sir, I would much appreciate it."

As much as Teizi wasn't sure what exactly to do with a Sith and a Jedi Master in beachwear, she also wasn't sure what to do with her hands. She tried to place them casually in front of her, but she was all too aware of the location of her own lightsabers on her belt. She didn't want to give the wrong impression, but the position was terribly unnatural.

"Master Lin!"

He was running, and had been, by the sounds of his breathing though she could not hear his footfalls upon the soft sand. A bright blue light erupted to her right and Teizi put out a hand to stop her Padawan from charging forward with abandon. She kept her left hand in front of her and maintained eye contact with the Sith as best she could while she used the Force to conquer all of Dallyn's forward momentum.

The boy seemed annoyed at first, glaring at Pyrran as though he was to blame for the use of the Force against him. Except that Pyrran's hands weren't in the correct position - and his own Master hadn't moved. He chanced a look over his shoulder, seeing first her hand, then her stoic profile.

"Master Lin?"

"Padawan Dallyn."

"Yes, Master! I am..."

"What do you see."

"Uh, I see a Sith...oh...um..."

"Yes, Dallyn?"

"Um... a Sith apparently enjoying a day at the beach?"

"Yes. And?"

"Well, there are children and ...um...OH."

Dallyn's face went pale upon reaching out to sense the party in front of him and landing smack upon Visper's aura. He couldn't help but notice that she didn't seem too impressed. The boy pulled himself up to stand a little straighter even as he cringed under his Master's questions.

"Yes?"

"There's another Jedi on the beach."

"Good. Which suggests?"

"That maybe the Sith was just on the beach minding his own business?"

"Yes. So, knowing that, why is there a live blade beside me right now?"

"Oh, well it's just that I don't usually get the chance to...you know, because you always...go...first."

Dallyn's blade disappeared and he grinned sheepishly at Teizi as she slowly turned her head to give him what could be only be described as an incredulous eye. "That sounded so much better in my head."

Teizi released her hold on her Padawan and somehow managed to avoid using that hand to pinch the bridge of her nose against a rising headache. The only sign she gave of any internal annoyance was purposeful, though brief, closing of her eyes as her head turned back toward the small gathering.

"Please accept my humble apologies for my Padawan's ardent behaviour. Evidently we have much work to do."

Monkey Kitty

Pyrran Onyk

Pyrran cursed himself for being so trusting, when he saw the second Jedi approaching at a run with a drawn blade. Of course this was an ambush. Of course it was. How could he have believed this Jedi really came in peace? His new friends' kindness had lulled him into a false sense of security - but apparently peace couldn't last long. He only hoped his error in judgment would not cause harm to those he loved... and those he had come to care about, even in such a short time. Red lightsabers ignited, and he prepared to defend his people.

Maialin regarded the two new Jedi with wide, terrified eyes, and Ebben had started to cry. Jasper knelt to comfort them both, while Trystan moved to intercept Shalmus - who looked fully prepared to engage the enemy with nothing but his sand shovel and his kicking ability. Trystan stepped in front of his older son, ready to shield him from any blows to come.

It seemed the crisis had been averted, though. The first Jedi had prevented the second from attacking before the young man had a chance to strike a blow. That was... fortunate. Pyrran's twin lightsabers extinguished, though he held them in a guard position in case another threat was made.

"Thankfully he had you here to step in," Visper said with absolute calm, but she made no secret of the fact that she was still sizing them both up.

"Is there something we can help you with?" Trystan asked. His tone was not unfriendly - despite the typical slightly clipped sound of the Imperial accent - but he didn't move out of his defensive position in front of Shalmus.

Evanni, meanwhile, watched the whole thing from her perch up in the palm tree.

Quaxo9

Neva Xolte

She stepped into the ring, feeling the rising heat even as the sound of the crowd rose up to fill the whole pit. Having learned from her previous matches, Neva had reduced her attire to a skin tight crop top and shorts including a tightly affixed pair of tinted goggles. Her opponent - a huge brute of a man who was clearly the crowd favourite. Neva grinned at him and resisted the urge to scan the crowd for her friends. Focus was necessary. She didn't even look up to watch the spinning wheel which decided the weapons for the match like so many competitors did. When 'martial' was the call, she grinned at her opponent again, a little toothier than before. This fight was hers.

"Enjoy the end of your winning streak. I know I will."

A spectator

This wasn't the ideal match-up, though this "Gaius" character had certainly obtained significant credentials. At the least, she managed to make the fight more interesting by turning the needle to be unarmed combat. Her position in a private box was sufficient, though she had the feeling her acolytes felt differently. Shifting forms in the shade behind her echoed the beating of her own heart. This was going to be a good day.

"Fight well...sister. We'll be together soon."

Quaxo9

Teizi Lin

They were on shaky ground, that much was clear. Fortunately, the group seemed forgiving enough of their trespassing, so Teizi forged ahead. Maintaining her distance from the group, she decided that she could give out a bit more information than she had previously. If nothing else, it might help explain her Padawan's imprudent behaviour.

"We were maintaining a watch on a Imperial Fleet when a craft suddenly departed. There have been some rumours floating around about this region and we were sent to either prove their validity or set the matter to rest. We followed the vessel here where it dropped off our scanners, forcing me to attempt to find the ship's crew on foot. I...did not anticipate that the ship could have left its fleet for...personal reasons."

Dallyn, unable to meet Master Visper's gaze, allowed his eyes to drift away from the group as though he were checking out the area. As a result, he was entirely distracted from the proceedings by the sight of a pretty Twi'lek girl up in a tree. Forgetting himself, he smiled and waved.

Monkey Kitty

"That wouldn't have been our ship," Pyrran replied. "Vette and I came straight from Dromund Kaas. We weren't traveling with the fleet."

"Maybe Lana...?" Trystan suggested.

But Theron was shaking his head. "She's been away for days, tracking down leads on the twins," he said. "She wouldn't have been with the fleet recently either."

It was likely that Teizi would recognize Theron. He was well known in his own right for his work in SIS - but also for being a Shan. He was the son of the Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan with the current Supreme Commander of the Republic military, Jace Malcom - though raised by neither of them. It was rather hard to maintain his anonymity, even on a beach where he was socializing with an Imperial defector. If nothing else, his distinctive cybernetics gave him away.

"There could be another Sith here," Visper speculated. "But what you're describing doesn't fit the flight path of either Imperial ship from our group."

Evanni was starting to relax a little, since the conversation was very far afield from possibly-escaped slaves. She hesitantly smiled back at Dallyn and returned a tiny wave of her own, then shimmied back down the tree - but stood rather close to Visper and Pyrran when she rejoined the others, just in case.

Monkey Kitty

Siralai Mahr

Siralai tried not to admit to herself that she was nervous. She wanted to be here to support Neva, and she knew her friend was a capable fighter - but she cared about Neva, and didn't want to see her hurt. At least it wasn't going to be a lethal match. Siralai wouldn't have been able to sit idly and watch that... and definitely wouldn't have brought her teenage daughter. It probably wasn't the greatest parenting decision to include Rossi even as it was - but Rossi had been determined about wanting to be there to cheer Neva on, and she had certainly seen (and been forced to participate in) much worse on Korriban, so Rossi wasn't likely to see anything shocking today.

As she waited for the match to begin, Siralai scanned the stands, more out of curiosity and habit than because she expected to see anyone really noteworthy in the audience. They were seated near a Hutt - which wasn't in itself surprising, this was exactly the sort of place you would expect a Hutt to frequent, but Siralai's lip curled when she saw that he was flanked by two young slave girls. Slavery was perfectly legal in Hutt space; apparently this one hadn't left behind the comforts of home when he made his trip to Rishi. The girls were clad in almost nothing, and the glazed look in their eyes suggested that their compliant state was the result of being spice-addled, in addition to the shock collars they wore. It made Siralai's blood boil to see a sentient being treat others that way.

Since there was nothing she could do about it at this particular moment, Siralai looked away and continued taking in the crowd. In one of the other boxes, she saw a party of Sith. Interesting. But not actionable, unless they did something to make it so. Even during her time with the Order, Siralai had never been zealous about pursuing Sith, and as an ex-member she had no obligation to intervene at all. If the Sith did something to merit concern, she would step in regardless - but as long as they sat there minding their own business, Siralai would too. She did, however, quietly draw Lana's attention to it. Lana glanced over, and nodded her understanding, though she also didn't stir from her seat.

Down in the ring, it appeared to Gaius that the situation was turning in his favor, despite the unfortunate loss he'd endured as the result of the break-in. Physical combat, against a wiry little Zabrak woman. This was going to be a piece of cake. He stretched, cracked his knuckles, and gave the crowd a knowing smile.

Quaxo9

Neva Xolte

She knew he'd be a heavy hitter and she felt she was amply prepared for that. Still, he got in a few part blows that certainly left their mark. The issue was that she was having difficulty getting to where she could take the man down - well, without killing him, of course. In many ways it was so much easier to just end someone than to incapacitate them.

The crowd seemed to love it, though, as she spun around behind him and gave him another set of jabs to the kidney region she thought that maybe she should try something bigger to end the fight sooner...and as she kissed the dirt, she couldn't help but agree with herself on that point. Neva managed to get out of the way of his next assault - she had assumed correctly that he'd attempt to kick her while she was down - and found herself creating a new strategy. The bigger they were, well...

Against her better judgment, she decided to egg her opponent on, hoping that if he lost his cool he'd lose his edge as well.

"So, that was your plan? Get a girl down and finish her with your boot? I'm guessing you weren't raised by your mother."

A spectator

Neva wasn't the only one thinking the match was going on too long. The Sith lord sat back, steepling her fingers together and staring over them as if to bore a hole straight through Neva's head.

"Arksynn."

"Yes, my lord?"

"Go make things a little more interesting. I need to see if she has promise."

The acolyte bowed and swept out of the box without looking back. The crowds didn't move as readily for a mere acolyte as they did for his lord, but he made steady progress down toward pit level.

Quaxo9

Teizi Lin (and Padawan Dallyn)

No wonder the town was thinking they were overrun with Sith - so many parties coming here apparently on their own might - she could understand why the arrival of the vessel she was pursuing might have caused a stir. However, this discourse left her with nothing to go on - only regret for having interrupted what seemed to have been a relaxing day. Teizi gave Theron an additional nod to acknowledge she knew who he was, but did not pursue any further conversation.

"I see. Thank-you for your assistance. I suppose it's back to the spaceport..."

"OH!" the word fairly exploded out of the Padawan who had been more focused on figuring out how to say hi to the girl who looked about his age without being weird. Unfortunately, as all eyes turned to him, he realized that he was past the point of not being weird. Blushing, he turned to face his master, hoping that by only looking at one person he might feel less flustered. Except his master had that cold stare he could never truly meet. Taking a gulp of air, he plunged onward.

"I know where the Sith we were following are going - sort of, anyway. That's why I came to find you when you didn't answer your holo! Apparently the Sith are here for a recruitment mission. I heard chatter that they're here to check out the local fight scene, but I have some security footage that suggests their movements may be more targeted. Looks like a Lord with a couple acolytes. I lost them before they got to where they were going. I'm sorry, Master."

The information was given in record time, leaving the padawan somewhat breathless, which gave Teizi some time to think. A recruitment mission? Interesting. How were they choosing their targets? Why not go somewhere with younger talent they could mould? Perhaps they were just looking for some hot-headed adepts with combat experience. Of course, Teizi was planning on finding out the answers to as many of her questions as she could get out of her quarry - should they find them, that is.

Monkey Kitty

Pyrran Onyk

"A recruitment mission?" Pyrran repeated. "It might be better if..."

His holocom chirped. He glanced at it, silenced, it, and continued, "It might be better to try prevent that, because..."

Another holocall started coming in. Pyrran gave the holocom a slight glare, hit the button to cancel the call, and tried to recapture his train of thought. "It may not have a good outcome, if..."

He was interrupted a third time by the insistent chirping. He huffed softly at his holocom with irritation, and said, "It seems I will be left with no choice but to take this call. Please excuse me."

As he stepped away, Trystan said, "I know of a possibility for where they may be headed. There's a fighting ring nearby - nonlethal stuff, seems to be mostly just competitors blowing off steam for credits. Our friend has a match there today. I am willing to direct you, but we need to reach an understanding first. My wife and daughter are there, along with another of our friends. Our daughter is a Pureblood too, and this friend is a human Sith. We cannot have a repeat of what happened here on the beach. If I help you, I will need a guarantee that it will not be at the expense of safety of any of my people. Do we have an agreement?"

***

"I told you I had personal business to attend to," Pyrran said, glaring at the figure on the holocom. "I will contact you when I return to Dromund Kaas. In the meantime, I need privacy to see to my affairs."

Darth Baras met Pyrran's eyes with a fixed, disapproving stare of his own. "Is that any way to speak to your master? I give the orders. It is your duty to obey. Do not make me remind you again."

Pyrran mentally shrugged off the implied threat. Baras had given such ultimatums in many of their conversations; it rarely seemed to amount to much. "As I told you, I will return to Dromund Kaas within a few days, at which time I will be at your disposal for whatever menial task next awaits me. I am not yet able to depart, and no amount of bluster will shorten my errand here."

"Oh, don't be coy, apprentice," Baras replied with an almost chuckle. "I know where you are, and I know what you're doing there."

Pyrran did his best to keep his expression neutral, but his heart sank. The last thing he wanted was for his master to realize he was reunited with his sisters. Of course, the fact that Pyrran had sisters was no secret. That was a matter of public record, as was their status as missing. Still, Pyrran didn't intend to call Baras' attention to any aspect of the situation.

"I know you're on Rishi," Baras went on. "And I know you went there to purchase a slave. You think I don't monitor your accounts? I know how you spend your credits. Honestly, Pyrran, if you were tired of the blue slave girl's charms, you should have told me. Lethan Twi'leks are not so rare as all that. I could have provided one for you on Dromund Kaas. The appetites of you young men are simply insatiable, aren't they? You could have had something else to entertain you, without this ridiculous trip."

If his skin weren't already red, Pyrran's blush would have been visible to Baras. It was humiliating to be taken for such a degenerate - especially with the girl in question being so young. On the other hand, it seemed he had dodged the metaphorical blaster bolt with the assumption. If Baras thought Pyrran was motivated by simple lust, all the easier to hide his true motives. He merely shrugged in response to the offer of captive flesh, knowing he would never take his loathsome master up on it.

"What's done is done," Pyrran said tersely.

"Indeed," Baras replied - suddenly jovial, which always made Pyrran nervous. It rarely had a pleasant result. "And as a matter of fact, this has been a stroke of good luck. There is a service I need you to perform for me immediately - and as it happens, your objective is right there on Rishi. I have need of a former soldier of the Republic named Felix Iresso. Have you crossed paths with him?"

It was all Pyrran could do to repress the instinct to glance toward the beach where Felix stood with the others. "Can't say I have - at least not as far as I know. Rishi is a rather populous planet, and I've been here less than a day. You can't expect I've met everyone already?"

Apparently Baras was not going to dignify that with a reply. There was silence until Pyrran broke it.

"Why exactly do you want this particular soldier dead?"

"Oh, no, not at all. Not dead. I need him alive. You see, I've just received a rather interesting piece of information. It seems another Darth has hidden a rather important Sith holocron in this mundane little soldier's head."

Pyrran scoffed openly. "Impossible. That would have killed him. Either someone fed you bad intel, or you failed to get the joke - but no, there isn't some human walking around with a holocron in his brain. He wouldn't have survived the process."

"But he did," Baras insisted. "He survived because the holocron is locked. Bring him to me, and I'll unlock it."

"Oh, you will?" Pyrran's tone remained dismissive, but he was starting to become a trifle concerned. "This mysterious benefactor of information gave you the key, too?"

"There is no key. It will need to be extracted. Forcibly. Others have failed - but they lacked my skill. I think you may recall a torture device known as The Ravager? Consider the effects. This man's brain will reveal its secrets."

Pyrran tried very hard not to remember the effects, to stifle the memory of witnessing that particular horror, but he couldn't stop the mental images Baras was trying to conjure up. Felix in agony, screaming as every scrap of information was wrenched from his brain, and his mind and body were left in ruins... No, he told himself sternly. Don't think of that. That isn't going to happen. Think of the future, the true one. Think of what's real. Felix growing old with his wife. Felix being there to care for his new daughter...

"Very well," Pyrran replied. "I will find this man and bring him to you, but it will take a few days. As I said, there are a great many people on Rishi. If you need me to find just one needle in this haystack, you'll need to back off and let me work."

"As you say, apprentice. Do not let me down. I need not remind you of the costs of my... disappointment."

***

When Pyrran returned to the others after the holocall, he was pale and distracted. He tried to act normal - or at worst, like a confident Sith lord - but failed miserably at both. He just looked like a worried man who had received bad news and didn't know what to do about it.

Monkey Kitty

Gaius Simnae

Gaius chuckled. "Oh, you're going to insult my mother? How creative. You're not exactly the first one to come up with that witticism, you filthy little alien pipsqueak..."

He had not been distracted by the implied slight - but something else did catch his attention. A red Pureblood face in the crowd - a teenage girl. That must be her! That must be his thief! Of course, he couldn't take his eyes completely off his opponent. For an instant, though, his interest in Rossi was noticeable. As was his clear ill intent. I'm going to enjoy snapping her skinny little neck... he thought with a smirk. Revenge would be even easier than he had expected, now that he knew what she looked like.