Athol

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

”If it’s all the same, I think I’m going to have a shower and get a few things done before I head back out.” Shaking Talnel’s hand, Elam took his leave. The Argent attack hadn’t been that taxing, but if he was going to be in a place as crowded as the Founding Day feast was, he preferred to be at his best, and the ‘interruption’ they’d caused had stopped him from a couple of minor things he’d planned on doing before the feast.
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Now at the Tower, he filtered through the crowds, taking in the atmosphere, and here and there, greeting folks that he knew; though given the masses, those were few and far between. ”ELAM EL-RUD!” The voice bellowing his name cut across the din, as everyone’s eyes cut to the source of the noise. Said source was an Iridonian in Green Jedi robes, and built on a scale that reminded Elam rather forcefully of the Mandalor himself. Wading through the crowd to Elam, the Jedi loomed over him. “Six hours...you trapped us in that lift for six hours!” There were only a few beings in the galaxy that could intimidate Elam, and this fellow wasn’t one of them. ”Really?” He replied with a smirk. ”Then you should really get your credits back for the slicer droid of yours; I figured you’d be out of there in like two at most.”

The Iridonian took a deep breath, but continued to glare at Elam. “Just tell me why…why are credits so important to you that you’d help a thief like that escape? How much did she pay you?” Inside his helmet Elam blinked in surprise. ”Help her?” He chuckled, before breaking into outright laughter. ”Mancri Tvi my friend…I sabotaged and trapped you to stop you from taking my bounty!” Mancri stopped glowering and blinked in surprise. ”Aceshaa Heros was a woman of enough skill and audacity to break into your Order’s archives on Corellia and steal a whole host of things, and you do don’t think she’s made powerful and wealthy enemies elsewhere?” “I…I hadn’t considered that.” ”Of course you didn’t…but tell you what; let’s take our grievances to the exhibition ring and settle this, best two out of three…Hell, beat me and I’ll give you the location of her hideout. I managed to trap and bag her there, but was on a tight schedule so I didn’t look about. Whatever she stole might still be there.”

Elam waved to a large clear space in the center of the hall, where a member of the local law enforcement kept watch. Mancri hesitated for a moment before nodding, and the both of them walked over to the official. ”Greeting Gentlemen,” The officer said, looking them over. ”Sabers?” There was a tinge of amusement in her voice. ”Please,” Elam replied. ”A best of three match. Elam El-Rud and Mancri” The officer nodded, keying information into the comp on her wrist; at her feet a large case hissed open. ”Alright, please deposit any lethal implements into the case, they’ll be returned to you at the end. The arena rules are simple; anything goes but if I or any other official calls a halt you do so immediately. Aside from the non-lethals, no weapons are permitted as is the use of lethal Force powers. Failure to comply will result in immediate consequences, clear?” Both Elam and Mancri acknowledged the rules and stowed their weapons, before the officer handed them each a training sabre.

Training sabres in hand they both entered the small arena, Elam taking the far side; as soon as he reached his position and turned to face his opponent a ray shield activated and a countdown timer began.

”3”

”2”

”1”

”BEGIN!”

They rushed each other in a blink, meeting in the centre, their sabres crackling as the blades clashed. Mancri pressed the attack, trying to use his greater height and reach to force Elam on the defensive; unfortunately for him, Elam expected that. Meeting the strike with a high parry, he took a risk and cut inside the Jedi’s reach, rolling his upper body under the attack and with the tip of his own blade, caught Mancri across the ribs. The big Jedi yelped and they both broke and headed back to their starting positions; the first round lasted no more than five seconds.

”Point: Elam El-Rud!”

Mancri took a moment to massage where he’d been hit, before nodding to the official. Elam did the same and they saluted each other as the countdown began again. Elam pushed the attack this time, trying to overwhelm Mancri with a flurry of rapid thrusts and cuts. In a way Elam was handicapping himself for these fights, as he’d yet to activate any of his cybernetics, instead just relying on the enhancements provided by his connection to the Force…much like his opponent. Too many strove to win at all costs, no matter the contest, but without challenge stagnation was sure to follow.

Mancri managed to feint one of his strikes and counter with one that forced Elam to leap clear; landing he made to rush again, only for at the last moment to feel a powerful Push slam into his leading leg. Off balance for an instant, he twisted to compensate and in doing so, left an opening that Mancri capitalised on. In a flash, the Jedi’s blade sparked off of his helmet and they broke apart once more.

”Point: Mancri Tvi!”

Deactivating his own blade for a moment, Elam removed his helmet and inspected it. There was a slight discolouration above the left temple, but it looked like something that could simply be wiped off. Smiling, he tossed the helmet to the side. ”Nicely played Mancri, you’re more sneaky than I gave you credit for!” Mancri smiled back and raised his sabre. “If you ever get tired of grubbing for credits and actually want to do something worthwhile with your time you should join us.” He replied. ”But then I’d have to dress like…that...”. Reigniting and raising his sabre once more, they then both acknowledged the official once more and the final round started.

Both made to meet in the centre once more, Mancri coming in with a powerful overhand strike, while Elam moved in for a hard block. Meeting in a high clash they vied for the dominated position; just as Mancri began to force things, using his greater size to make Elam either back down or back off, Elam did the unthinkable, he deactivated his weapon. Caught off guard, Mancri stumbled a moment and fell forward, allowing Elam to sidestep and claim the winning blow across Mancri’s back.

”Point and match: Elam El-Rud!”

Mancri wheeled about, furious. “That was an under-handed and illegal move.” His sabre still blazing, the official stepped forward, one hand raised while the other rested on the grip of her blaster. ”It was a single strike with a non-lethal weapon sir; the match is concluded. Please deactivate and return your lightsabre.” Mancri still bristled, but he complied, glowering once more at Elam. ”It’s a move that’s only illegal in your world.” Elam replied, returning his own borrowed weapon. ”I was taught there is no such thing as an ‘under-handed’ technique. In the wider galaxy liming yourself in such a way is a good way to get yourself killed by someone who doesn’t think like you do”

As the ray shield came down and they reclaimed their gear, Elam keyed into his wrist comp; after a moment Mancri’s chimed. ”Here, the coordinates…I just wanted to see how you’d do.” Patting him one the shoulder, Elam left the stunned Jedi to his thoughts while he moved deeper into the feast hall, while all around those that’d gathered for the rather short show once again dispersed.

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

_@Theyra

He couldn’t help but laugh as Talnel’s comment about his prices. ”I’ll admit, my usual rate is a bit out of reach of most people; but that said, I know what it’s like to try and find your feet without really having a feel for the whole situation, so I’m glad to help.” They sat in a companionable silence for a moment or two before an alert sounded on Elam’s comm.

Checking the alert, he smiled before sending a note to the datapad he’d given Talnel. ”Just got a reminder that the Founding Day feast is starting fairly soon. If you want a good place to meet and talk with a Jedi or two without having to go to the Enclaves, unless they’ve been dragged to the more ‘formal’ deal up the Tower by their wives you may well find Kenobi or Skywalker about…plus the food is both good and free.”

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

_@Theyra

Elam gave a nod of ‘thanks’ as Talnel complemented his Tuk’ata, but letting the man speak his piece before replying. ”Firstly, let me lay a fear of yours to rest. In Mandalorian Space at least, they’re not really going to care too much about Force use of any kind, so long as you’re not posing a threat.” Shifting in his seat he shrugged a bit. ”The Enclaves may make a bigger deal of it but from what I’ve read compared to the old Republic era Order, they’ve lightened up quite a bit and their authority only really extended to members of the Enclaves and their properties; As for the Argent? That was bad luck on both our parts. I never figured they’d come to Mandalore, or that if they did they’d be stupid enough to try something like that under the Mandalorian’s noses…they really don’t appreciate others trying to enforce foreign laws in the GRM.”

Standing, he began to go through various cupboards and drawers before finding what he was searching for. Returning to where they sat, he handed Talnel a datapad before sitting once more. ”Jedi teachings have some ‘spiritual’ stuff about selecting the various components for a lightsabre, but as you could probably guess, I don’t put much stock in that. What you’ve got there is a spec sheet of what you need; power ranges for emitters and power supplies, suggested layouts for grips, switches and the like. It’s a bit vague I know, but every sabre is a custom thing, based on your fighting style etcetera. With the exception of the crystal, realistically you can probably build one out of any decently stocked droid/speeder shop or ship repair dock. The crystal itself…” He frowned a bit and sighed. ”Like I said, I don’t think I’m much help to that end, though maybe try asking around the Council of Iron?”

Elam could immediately see that Talnel seemed more than a little wary of that suggestion, so he smiled with a bit of a placating hand wave. ”I know, I know, you’re cautious about this stuff; but they’re actually pretty cool for Jedi. They’re the ones who’ve largely ‘gone native’ as it were and trend more towards Mandalorian style pragmatism…and they’re pretty open to the public, folks are encouraged to just drop in and hang out. Fun bunch, do some pretty good barbecue.”

”As for pay?” He shrugged and made a vague gesture at the ship around him”Normally my rates are…significant, as you can probably guess; but hey I know where you're coming from, new to the wider galaxy as it were unsure of both your place in it and who, if anybody, to trust. To that end, this is all ‘on the house’ as it were; it never hurts to have a few friendly faces in my line of work.”

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

_@Theyra

”Elsewhere, eh?” Elam replied, finishing his cup. Taking a moment, he activated his bio-stabilizer and between that and a bit for Force assistance, he purged the alcohol from his system; the pleasant tastes remained, but the mental fuzziness was gone. ”If you want to ‘talk shop’ as it were my office isn’t too far away.”

After a nod of agreement from Talnel, Elam stood taking the partially empty bottle with him. Another hand motion pulled his sabre from the table top, letting him clip it back on his belt. With a nod of thanks to the bartender, he set out into the crowds with Talnel. While he was taking a much more direct route back to the Tuk’ata than what he’d taken to get to the bar, the Founding Day traffic slowed things up considerably. Other than occasionally turning to make sure that they hadn’t been separated, there was basically no chance for the pair to even engage in ‘small talk’ before they finally cleared the throngs.

Now clear of the worst of the crowds, he waved Talnel towards the access door of the landing pad. Once they were both through the doors, he activated the remote access to his ship and dropped the boarding ramp. ”My office.” Leading his new companion, they entered up into the ship's cargo area.

The ship chimed in greeting as the lights came up, illuminating the wroshyr panelled walls and cargo crates of personal supplies. The centre of the cargo area had a small mat laid out on the durasteel decking as a small practice space. Heading towards the bow of the ship they reached to lounge, which like the rest of the ship was panelled in wroshyr wood, though this time on the deck as well. Ducking into the galley to drop off the bottle, Elam then racked his helmet and hung his cloak, inviting Talnel to grab a seat wherever. ”Alright,” He said finally, dropping into a nearby spot. ”Now that we’re away from prying eyes and ears, what’s on your mind?”

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

_@Theyra

Nodding along to Talnel, he chuckled into his cup as the other man asked about his lightsaber and such. ”Na, I don’t mind; I mean I asked you some stuff, only fair you get to do the same.” Transferring his cup to his left hand, he waved his right hand over his hip, his lightsaber snapping from its hanger into his hand.

Shifting slightly, he set it in front of Talnel. ”Have a look…just don’t turn it on, folks tend to get nervous if you start waving those about.” For most who carried them, a lightsaber was a piece of art or a personal expression of themselves; Elam’s however was more akin to a workman’s tool, simple and utilitarian. The hard wearing black paint it’d originally been coated in was worn in places by his hand or where it rubbed and banged against him on his belt.

”But yeah, I’m not a Jedi; that’s one of the reasons why the Argent don’t like me.” He smiled and resumed sipping on his drink. "I think the closest you’d find here to me, would be the Jetii'ramikad and even then…" He shrugged. ”I actually grew up outside the Republic, largely taught by a tutor, and my dad when he had the time. As for your own saber? Honestly, I’d help if I could, but the Orders tend to keep their kybers to themselves; I use a synth one, but I don’t know where around here where you’d get one of those.”

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

_@Theyra

He simply nodded as Talnel was a bit vague about his exact reasons for being on Mandalore; everyone was entitled to their secrets and it wasn’t Elam’s place to pry…at least when he wasn’t ‘on the clock’ as it were.

”I’ve been living here on Mandalore for about a decade now, and this place always finds a way to keep you on your toes; even more so on Founding Day.” Taking a mouthful of ne'tra gal, he then poured the last bit of mando papuur'gal from his one cup and into the other before taking a drink. By this point he was starting to get TOX warnings as his various cybernetics noticed the increasing alcohol. A mental command shut down his filters temporarily so he could actually get drunk, though he was careful to make sure they’d automatically reactivate in at least twelve hours.

”Honestly forgot it was Founding Day though; I’m an ‘independent contractor’ and just wrapped up a long term job that turned to sithspit at the last moment so I decided I deserved a few days off…” Shifting in his seat, he laughed a bit and shook his head. ”Though after those Argies, I’m thinking I should take the whole month.”

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

_@Theyra

Elam couldn’t help but chuckle at Talnel’s comment. ”Well fights are pretty standard here…I’m pretty sure Mandalorians fight as a way to say hi.” A man at one of the nearby table’s must’ve heard him, because the Mando laughed and raised his drink in a salute. “Talyc pirusti staabi!” He laughed. ”Munit oyacyir te verda!” Elam replied, returning the salute with his own drink.

Turning back to Talnel, he smiled and shook his head. ”Usually it’s not that bad here though; I just hit some kark luck and you got dragged into it.” Sitting back a bit more, he nodded a ‘thanks’ to the bartender who’d just arrived with the ne’tra gal; once the drinks were delivered and the bartender was gone, he took a sip. ”So, what brings you to Mandalore if you don’t mind me asking? You uh, don’t exactly strike me as a Founding Day tourist.”

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

_@Theyra

Leading his new found compatriot away from their encounter, Elam stuck to side streets and back alleys to avoid the crowds of half-alert tourists that swarmed over Mandalore, and Keldabe City in particular, during Founding Day.

After ten or so minutes, and a couple brief pauses to make sure he had his bearings right, he brought them to one of the innumerable little drinking dens that dotted the side streets; this one in particular was called the ‘Rusty Nut’. Over the door was mounted the battered head of a B1 and as they pushed inside that theme seemed to continue with B1s, or at least parts of them, making up everything from the light fixtures to the legs of the tables and chairs.

There were only a few customers, and judging by the fact that they were all armed and armoured, all locals. He could feel the two of them being scrutinized, but ignored it. Heading up to the bar where an unhelmeted Mandalorian woman was cleaning some glasses, he nodded and placed a sum of credits on the bar. ”When you’ve got a moment, I’ll take a bottle of decent mando papuur'gal if you’ve got it, two ne'tra gal if you don’t…or all three if you’ve got both.”

The bartender laughed as she set down the glass she was cleaning and took the credits. “Ori'jate! One of those days eh?” Reaching below the bar, she brought up a bottle of mandalorian wine and two cups, setting them in front of Elam. “Be over with the ne’tr gal in a moment.” ”Vor entye.” He replied, grabbing the bottle and cups before joining Talnel at a table. Pouring two drinks he toasted the other man. ”Barely planetside and it’s already been one of ‘those’ days...”

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

Stepping away from his landing pad and into the crowds it felt like all of the GRM and two thirds of the rest of the galaxy had descended on Mandalore. Much of the crowd was dressed in traditional Mndalorian fashion; a full set of durasteel or beskar armour and a blaster or two, along with any innumerable more hidden implements tucked away on their bodies. The rest of the cacophony were either at least armoured as much as Elam was, or in a dizzying variety of cuts and colours from various worlds. The ones that stood out the most in their uniformity were the shoals of young Imperials, some of them almost looked like they were young enough to be one of his!

Moving in groups, the younger ones seemed to be trying to take in everything all at once, while many of the slightly older Imps seemed to already be intoxicated. Weaving his way through the masses he simply let his feet, and the flow, carry him; he had nowhere pressing to be, and anyone he knew planet-side was likely to be caught up in Founding Day stuff for a while. Eventually he did catch something on the wind as he neared an open plaza dotted with stalls of various types; spices that made his nose twitch and sweet wafting that made his mouth water. Must be hungrier than I thought…

Largely following his nose through the crowds he eventually made his way to the source of the spices, a collection of vendors selling all manner of traditional Mando foods. A couple of the busier stalls had the look of corporate beige with a ‘Mandalorian’ skin painted over it to appeal to the non-Mandos…unsurprisingly the only customers weren’t locals; he kept moving. A little further back he found what he was looking for, a stall made out of repurposed materials, the air rich with the smell of tiingilar, and several off-duty Deathwatch sitting nearby eating heartily.

Making his way forward, he nodded to the man running the stall. Though like many, he was in full armour and helmeted, he build suggested he was an older fellow…and that he took his cooking seriously; as the old saying went ‘Never trust a skinny cook.’ “What’ll y’ ‘ave?” The Mando asked with a bit of a chuckle. “We got tiingilar an’ tiingilar.” Elam laughed and replied in Mando’a. <”Well that’s a tough choice…I’ll have the tiingilar.”> The fellow paused for a moment, surprised. <”My name is Elam…I’ve been coming and going from Keldabe for a few years now.”> He said by way of introduction.

<”Tell me, is TRUE tiingilar, or that ‘safe’ stuff being pawned off to the off-worlders.”> <“Cets,”> The fellow replied with a laugh. <“An’ that mass produc’d crap I wouldn’ feed t’ my massifs! This,”> He said, scooping a serving into a bowl. <”Is a Clan Twyr recipe tha’ goes back to the days of the Uniter hisself.”> The smell washed over Elam. After paying he took a mouthful and let out a satisfied sigh even as the sweat began to bead in his hairline. <”Cets, this is exactly what I was hoping for.”> He said between bites; he was about to ask about finding a drink when a female Mando with the same Clan markings as Cets waved to Elam. <”Y’ be want’n a drink wi’ that?”> She called out from a stall across from the tiigilar seller. <”My sister, Uvo.”> Cets said. Elam nodded a thanks and turned around. <”Just so happens that’s exactly what I was looking for.”> He replied with a bright smile before eating another mouthful. <”You wouldn’t happen to have any ne'tra gal would you?”> Uvo laughed much like her brother as she reached under the simple counter of her stall and brought up a bottle and a cup. <”Oh I like y’ Elam, y’ know th’ real stuff.”> Shea said, laughing once more as she poured. Paying for his drink, he nodded to the Clan Twyr siblings before moving off the sticky sweet of the ne’tra gal doing what it could to counter the heat of the tiigilar.

Fed and with a pleasant alcoholic buzz forming he set off once more into the crowds.

Star Wars Chapter 0: KNIGHTFALL

[Several Days Earlier]

The Tuk’ata settled into the cliff side hanger with a thump, while various readouts flickered in Elam’s eyes as the computers reported a successful landing and shut down. Climbing out of the pilot’s seat he yawned and stretched before stepping into the Captain's Quarters, which were just off the bridge, to retrieve his helmet and cloak.

Gathering up his gear he headed for the stairs down to the main deck, but he wasn’t exactly hurrying. His ‘mission’, really a bit of slicing and thievery, had gone decently and the payout was going to be pretty good…assuming things went well; Since he’d dropped in system he’d had a nagging feeling that this was all going to go sideways, and he’d learned from a young age to trust that instinct; especially at a time like now when his ‘client’ was one of the Galaxys innumerable wannabe warlords masquerading as a ‘loyal and stalwart leader of the Confederacy’. Locking his helmet in place, he dropped the boarding ramp and walked down to the hanger floor.

Reaching the foot of the ramp, he was greeted by a B1 battle droid. From a distance it looked clean and ready to go, but with his mix of enhanced optics he could see crude welds where it’d been inexpertly repaired and then heavily re-painted to try and hide said repairs.

”His Supreme Magnificence, The Benevolent and Undefeated Grand High Protector Halleto Thi, The restorer of Order and Democracy, Lord Archduke Marshal of the Confederacy, First and Only Grand-Warden of the Asuktal Sea, Liberator and Supreme Administrator of Katarr requires your presence.”

Sweet karking krik…must’ve spent the time I was doing the job thinking up new titles for himself. Outwardly, he simply nodded to the B1 who simply turned about and headed towards a set of side doors, while inwardly he started to do the math on the chances of this meeting ending badly; the odds seemed to be worsening exponentially. And here I was thinking this’d be a nice little payday before I took some time to just relax…

To less wary observers, the show being put on by Thi was impressive and intimidating as intended. Dozens of Vulture and Hyena droid fighters hung from ready racks, a flight of Porax-38 fighters with suited pilots stood by on alert and an immaculate Sheathipede Type B, guarded by a pair of menacing looking B2s. To Elam however, it was much less daunting. The sensor suite in his helmet was tied into the passive sensors of his ship, and through them he could tell none of the hanging droid fighters were even on ‘standby’, and some of the racks showed heavy corrosion. While the ‘38s were at least powered most of the ‘alert’ crews were anything but, many showing signs of various types of intoxication; the only legitimately threatening things in the hanger looked to be the B2s and as he looked at them, they seemed to be as patchwork as his B1 guide. Only the shuttle seemed to actually be regularly maintained.

Leaving the hanger, the wafer thin veneer of intimidation continued; he’d been through here before down the corridor to the ‘Throne Room’. Last time it’d simply been a tall but well lit utilitarian hallway, indistinguishable for any other CIS facility he’d been into; now every second light had been disabled, probably in an attempt to make things more menacing, and under each light stood another B2. Unlike the two on guard in the hanger, these seemed to have more in common with the fighters he realised as he walked passed. Most showed rough repairs poorly hidden under layers of paint and none of them actually appeared to be working.

Finally reaching the end of the corridor where another B1 stood off to the left of the door, his escort stopped and turned to face him. ”The Undefeated Grand High Protector will see you know. Any hostile actions will be met with lethal and overwhelming force, this is your only warning.” It said before turning and taking up position on the right side of the door. Give me strength, He thought to himself. I’ve seen more intimidating primary schools. Stepping into the throne room, it was exactly what he was expecting. Slovenly thugs who preyed only on those much weaker than themselves lounged about in stupor while a pair of very young and terrified looking twi’leks ‘danced’ to the music from a holo in the corner. At the centre of the room a fat weequay fondled a pantoran woman who looked only slightly older than the twi’leks. Seeing Elam, the weequay pushed the pantoran aside and heaved himself upright in his seat. “AH! Elam my boy, good to see you! I take it that since you’re here, things went well?”

”Well enough Grand High Protector Thi,” He replied, loathing the fact that he needed to pander to the fat karks ego. The man was everything Elam detested, but it wasn’t his place to take sides. ”There were a few complications, but nothing that couldn’t be managed.” Reaching down, Thi slapped the pantoran in the back of her head and then pointed to Elam.

“I take it then you have something for me.” ”I do,” He replied much more calmly than he felt, slowly reaching under his cloak and retrieving a datadisc and handing it to the slave girl before she turned it over to her master. ”So,” Thi said, twisting the datadisc back and forth in the light over his seat. ”This is all of it?” ”Yes Grand High Protector Thi,” Elam replied. ”A full map of Burras the Hutts smuggling network as well as access to three of their major accounts.”

”Excellent, excellent!” Thi exclaimed, while several of his more lucid ‘retainers’ laughed and congratulated their boss. ”Now, grab yourself a drink and a girl. We’ll load up the gunship in an hour and go claim what is mine.” Elam sighed to himself. I knew he was greedy and stupid…but not this bad…kark it, here we go. A murmur rippled through the room; he’d been dismissed by the Grand High Portector, but he was still standing in front of him. ”I don’t think so.” The room went still, the only noise from holo recording, and the mood rapidly turning foul; at the edge of his perception he saw the two dancers scurry for cover under a table while the pantoran got behind the throne. ”What was that?” Thi growled. ”I thought it was clear. I’m not one of your jumped up gutter scrapping, and my ship is not yours. Now pay me so I can leave and scrub the filth of this cesspit off.” Rage flared in Thi’s eyes as Elam smiled behind his featureless faceplate.

”KILL HI-”

A message floated in the corner of Elam’s vision.

Protocol GREEN: ACTIVE

Elam hit Thi with a Force throw that launched him out of his seat before he could finish his order. Launching himself away from where he was standing, Elam drew his pistol as he rolled, opening fire as he came to his feet and blasting two of the vaguely more with it thugs before Thi had even hit the wall. The explosion of violence actually managed to rouse the most comatose ones, which did leave him out numbered about eight to one…if one were to ignore the fact that they were vastly out classed.

The room itself wasn’t overly large, and being conscious that there were in fact non-combatants in there as well, he dropped his blaster as he dodged the first wild return fire, losing his cape as well in the process. Pulling the two wickedly curved fighting knives from his belt he let his emotions flow while focusing his connection to the Force into his blade. All of this happened in the span of a few heartbeats, before he launched into a true attack. Between his Force powers and augmentation he was faster than the third rate muscle could comprehend and his blades tore through durasteel with minimal effort. This was a more one-sided fight than a nexu versus a pack of sleeping bark rats.

None of them had time to run…most didn’t even have time to scream before he was tearing into them, a Force augmented blade ripping through armour, muscle and bone with ease, leaving behind nothing more than so many kilos of rapidly cooling meat. As the last mad died the main door finally opened as the pair of B1 ‘door guards’ finally reacted. While they were across the room, giving them the range advantage, especially considering his knives would be all but useless for deflecting blaster fire; but he had plenty of other tricks up his sleeve. Raising his right hand, he let the knife in that hand dangle off his index finger, before closing said hand in a tight fist while selecting one of the droids.

The droid in question managed a surprised squwak before it was compacted into a mass roughly the size of a humanoid's head in a shower of sparks and smoke. The second droid actually jumped at the sight, distracting it just long enough for Elam to pull its crushed companion to him before launching it back fast enough to smash the second droid to ruin. Like that the fight was over; somewhere in the confusion the holo emitters were damaged and the band silenced, the only sounds now the occasional sparking from said emitters and the terrified sobs of the slaves.

Sheathing his knives, and retrieving his blaster, Elam went to check the hall. As he suspected, the B2s were entirely decorative as none of them had moved…except one that appeared to have fallen over after the crushed B1 slammed into it. With no further signs of threat at the moment, he made his way back to where Halleto Thi was still laying in a dazed pile after getting tossed. Reaching out with the Force he picked up Halleto and slammed him against the wall just hard enough to wake him up.

”You DA-urrkk” His indignation was cut short by Force pressure on his windpipe.

Protocol GREEN: INACTIVE

”Be silent, you disgusting waste of matter.” Elam took a deep breath, letting out slowly. ”Despite my distaste for you, I was content to leave you be; take my pay and then go about my business…but you just couldn’t keep your greasy karking mitts to yourself.”

Holding Halleto with one hand, he pulled his communicator out with the other and placed a call. A few moments later a hutt appeared, who immediately became livid upon seeing Elam. <”You have some nerve THIEF! My men WILL find you and you WILL pay for daring to steal from the Great Burras the Hutt!>” Once the hutt stopped, Elam bowed his head. ”Peace Great Burras. I know I wronged you, but I bring you an offering…to at least bring us to neutral ground.” Burras glared at him through the holo. <”Peace? Offering? You have the guts to say such things El-Rud, especially after what you did..but speak.”> ”Thank you Great Burras. I offer you the one who hired me, living and whole; as well as what was stolen and how it was done to prevent such matters again.”

Silence dragged on while Burras thought, occasionally punctuated by muted gasps and gurgles from one increasingly frantic Halleto Thi. <”Very well,”> Elam’s comm chimed with an incoming message. <”My agent will meet you at those coordinates so you may return what is mine.”> The call ended before Elam could reply. Though unable to speak at the moment, Halleto’s eyes pleaded with Elam, he knew what horrors awaited him at the hands of an angry hutt; Elam simply drew his blaster once more, set it to a heavy stun and shot Halleto before letting him crumple to the ground once more.

Sighing, he rolled his neck before turning to face the closest of the slaves, the pantoran woman. He could see she’d been tethered to the throne, and while he’d been dealing with Halleto and Burras, she’d moved once again to put it between him and herself. Reaching up to his helmet he released the seals with a small hiss and ‘pop’ as it disconnected from his suit. Immediately he was struck by just how badly the room stunk, though surprisingly it wasn’t as bad as he’d expected. Setting his helmet on the floor, he regarded the woman. ”My name is Elam, Elam El-Rud.” She shied away for a moment, or at least as much as she could. ”K-Kele Seki.” ”Okay Kele,” He said calmly; understandably she and the two twi’leks were extremely on edge, especially after what he’d done to everyone else in the room. ”I’d like to come over to you and see if I can get that collar off. Is it okay if I touch you?” Kele was still eyeing warily, but after a few moments she nodded. Kneeling beside where Kele was still crouched, he could see marks from the casual brutality of her former captors, and he had to take a moment to re-center himself. The restraint itself was almost laughably simple, a heavy leather collar that closed over a D-ring and a physical lock that held the collar closed and connected the collar to a length of durasteel cable. No shock compliance regulator, no anti-tamper sensors, none of it; the set up was so simple it was almost baffling.

”Okay Kele, the simplest way is for me to simply cut this.” He could sense her heart rate start to rapidly spike. ”Please Kele,” He said softly, deliberately slowing his own breathing. ”I need you to stay calm. I know you have no real reason to trust me yet, but I will get you all free…okay.” It took a bit but eventually after she took a few deep breaths Kele had calmed enough for Elam to work. Drawing one of his knives he carefully hooked the tip under the leather and slid the blade forward, the madog steel alone being more than up to the task. As soon as the collar was cut Kele’s hand went to her neck, just to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. As he stepped back, Kele stood and immediately went to the two twi’leks who were still huddled behind what was left of the holo emitter.

All three of them hugged each other fiercely. As he got over to them, he could see the twi’leks and realised two things, one from the looks of things they were likely sisters and two he’d probably overestimated their ages. ”This is Zi’ki and Ozri.” Kele said, still holding them tight. ”Hello Zi’ki, Ozri, my name is Elam. I’m going to do what I did with Kele and get those collars off. Alright?” Zi’ki, the older of the two nodded. ”Alright, just be a moment.” A little bit of knife work later and all three were free.

”Kele,” Elam said, standing and heading back over to the unconscious Halleto; she was the oldest of the three, he figured about ten or so years younger than himself. ”Do you know how to fly a ship?” ”Y-yes.” She said hesitantly. ”I used to crew on a freighter be-befo...” She took a deep, shuddering breath and wiped the tears from her eyes, and nodded to Elam. ”Perfect, there’s a ship out in the hanger and he’s not going to need it anymore.” As he spoke, Elam was rifling through Halleto’s pockets, retrieving the datadisc that started this whole mess, as well as a small controller.

A few button pushes showed that they simply controlled the lights and audio in the room, while the last one he pushed opened a hidden doorway in a corner of the room. As the door opened all three women shuddered. ”I’ll be back in a moment.” He said, pulling his helmet to him and putting it on. Stepping through the door, it was exactly what he’d figured and made his new companions' reactions understandable. Stepping into Halleto’s ‘bedroom’, he used the Force to pull the place apart, eventually exposing the hidden security safe. Another laughably primitive thing, he had it open in moments. Inside he found what he wanted, a master controller that was linked to the Sheathipede in the hanger. A simple reformatting slice reset the ship’s systems to default and awaiting the authorization of its new owner; as well as that the safe had a sizable stack of credits. Pocketing what Halleto had owed him, he returned to the trio and handed the controller to Kele and told her to add her thumb print. After some reassurances to the sisters they all set off back to the hanger, Halleto slung over his shoulder. Reaching the door he dumped the weequay and then told the others to stay where they were until he called, with that he stepped into the hanger.

Rushing the two functional B2s with his lightsaber, he made short work of them, while simultaneously he remote activated the defences on the Tuk’ata, the beam turrets and laser cannons wiping out the ‘alert’ craft and their crews before they realised they were under attack. Once that was done he gathered up his bounty and the ex-slave and pointed them to the shuttle, handing Kele the rest of the credit.

”The ship is yours, go where you will, though if I may make a recommendation, make for Mandalore. The GRM and the Jedi have good programs in place to help folks like yourself.” Kele looked at him for a moment before enveloping him in a hug that was surprisingly strong given the state she was in. ”Thank you.” She said quietly as she pressed her face against his chest; moments later both Zi’ki and Ozri latched onto him from either side. ”Will we see you again?” ”Maybe, I come and go from Keldabe City somewhat regularly…we should really be going.” While the sisters let go, Kele actually gave a small chuckle. It was a bit hollow and sad, but a good sign. ”Thank you again Elam.”

With that the three ran past the hacked apart B2s and up the ramp of the shuttle, the ship taking flight after a minute or two. Elam had done the same with the Tuk’ata, tossing Halleto into his holding cell as he went. He was airborne right behind the Sheathipede, just on the off chance that there might have been ground fire. With the shuttle jumping to hyper, he did the same, heading to meet with Burras’ agent to turn over the datadisc and one very unfortunate Halleto Thi.

---

[Founding Day]

Dropping out of hyper, Elam almost did a double take at the sensor readings in front of him. What in the ‘verse is going on here? The Mandalore system always had its fair share of traffic, but this was getting a little ridiculous; it almost looked like you could walk from Concordia to Mandalore with the amount of shipping he was seeing. On top of that his sensors highlighted a few unusual sightings like a whole flotilla of Imps, including one of their Star Destroyers, holding station mid-system and Hapes of all things. He continued to be baffled, right up until he thought to check the local extranet. Founding Day…of course...great Keldabe is going to be PACKED…

Eventually he connected with astro control and got clearance to land at the private pad he rented. Once down, he did a bit of clean up and had a shower before donning his gear; he took his helmet with him but used a built in carry strap to attach it to his belt. Walking down the ramp, he headed into the city to see what this year's Founding Day had to offer.