Private A Broken Relic

[Phalsi Drynchen]

"That really is my only guess. But with who? The Alliance? The Imp order? The Sith themselves? There's to little to say for certain." She frowned.

"I don't think picking up the trail or going down the gizka hole is going to be fun. Might be both end up on our tail." The frown deepened as she thought on the matter.

"We can't really go to anyone without trust being broken. Or at least silence anyway." Exhaustion seeped into her features, hands rubbing her face as the feeling of climbing a sheer cliff loomed overhead.

"We focus on what we can do for the moment. Then back on the trail." Phalsi concluded.

 

[Acaadi]

2 MONTHS LATER
ATTAHOX RELAY STATION 4

He leaned over the counter, over the bowl of steaming hot...something...and kept an eye on a man further up the promenade who had been watching them closely.

Acaadi had been to worse places. Not many, but there had been a few during his career with the Silver Jedi. The world had changed hands several times during the wars between the One Sith and the Galactic Republic and it had done nothing to improve the poverty stricken planet.

Acaadi and Phalsi hadn't come on official jedi business. With the Torgaigne syndicate still having a strong hold on the export of phosovane salts and any imports to the world they hadn't been permitted to land directly. They had to land on one of two remaining transit stations - which did beg the question where numbers one and two went - until they were cleared to head down.

From the looks of the place, a lot of people had made the station home. Acaadi had to wonder if the station itself would have been suitable to hide a captured jedi master for years.

"This is...great..." Acaadi said with a hint of strain when the togorian serving them checked in before serving another customer. He turned to Phalsi.

"What do you think this flavour is?" he asked quietly.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She'd had worse food. And better. And even something that passed as a baseline for what different foods passed as staples in the galaxy. She wasn't entirely sure what the thing before each of them was, but it at least gave them something to pick at.

While they were being watched.

Unofficial business seemed to be am equally common staple in her career of late. Something the Sisters had been both amused and...less amused about. They knew what she had done with Darkwire, and save for the intelligence she had gathered during her 'fight' against her own order, would have likely landed her into hotter water than the current duo's last sortie for a mission.

She'd done well enough to hide the disdain on her face, but it seeped into her emotional cloud as Acaadi drew her attention away from the man down the way.

Their server checked with them before moving to another, making Phalsi drop her tone to something just above a murmur as she ladled some into view before letting it slop back into the bowl.

"Tired food processor and sweat. That's about what I can pin down." She cleared her throat, turning her eyes down.

"How long do you figure before we have an 'accident' or cross someone's path?" She bothered to ask.

 

[Acaadi]

Acaadi was hungry enough that he managed to eat some of the bland mush. There was, at least, a hint of foreign spice in the mixture.

For the last four years he had almost always been starving hungry and eating most times of the day. Recently he had been settling back into eating three good meals a day. It meant that Phalsi's fridge wasn't always empty.

"Good question," he replied. "Could be just station security checking on us, could be worse."

If the sith enclave had already noticed their arrival, he doubted they would have been so obvious about it.

"Ignore it, give them the slip, or meet this head on?" He muttered quietly. In the middle of the possibilities was the local syndicate. If they had flagged him as a Jedi they would be feeling nervous about their operations.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She pushed the utensil back and forth in the bowl, hunger not yet dire enough to completely settle on the thing before her. Another few bites solidified the decision as she stole a glance at their tail. Or greeter. Depended on how everything played out she supposed.

"Probably give them a chance to approach." She remarked, patting at the travel worthy attire she had chosen for this leg of the trip. Nothing to fuss over if it got damaged but nice enough to pass as above decent.

"Take a look around the few shops here. Point at some things like tourists. See how intent they are." She offered, keeping her gaze to Acaadi rather than risk another glance over him.

 

[Acaadi]

Acaadi gave a sharp nod. He had decided to stop commenting on how sensible her plans were when it came to subterfuge. Phalsi was aware that she had far more expertise than him in this regard. Any was more than him.

He picked up his pot of food out of politeness than genuine interest in finishing it.

"I wonder if the nice smell was the next stand..." he thought out loud as they stepped away.

As they walked away he was caught between two different strands of thought. On one side it was easier than expected to slip into pretending to explore the shops with Phalsi. It wasn't even pretending, not really.

The calm weeks spent with Phalsi - both before and after their serious injuries - had made him think that he had been too focussed on his training for too long. He hadnt lived as much as he should have done.

The other strand of thought was stretching out through the Force. The man was still following, his attention clearly on them.

"He's not a sith," Acaadi muttered. "Or he's much better than me."

Phalsi would spot the second man ahead of them before Acaadi. They were slowly being surrounded.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

Taking a step away from the stand, the duo taking their stride in moving as she felt the subtle dive into the force next to her. Made easier with twining her arms onto his. Slipping into another persona as she had practiced with the sisters.

Wasn't hard this one. She enjoyed the contact as her eyes roamed over the signs around them with a gleeful smile.

Not missing the second person intently focused on them.

"OH! We can get mom something while we're here." She spoke freely, pulling away from him while simultaneously pulling him forward as though pulling along a new pup. She didn't let her gaze linger over the new face, instead pulling Acaadi down the path to another shop while stealing a glance over his shoulder.

Intent on selling the idea they were just tourists in some regard to play out the game a little.

 

[Acaadi]

Acaadi could feel the noose closing around them. They were not just being tailed, a few of them were moving in to try and cut them off. The market was a warren of shops and stalls and Phalsi was choosing their route.

He could keep up the guise, but he couldn't do so at the same time as trying to watch their pursuit. It took too much of his focus to keep up their feigned conversation to blend in. He had to abandon watching their backs and trust that Phalsi had something in mind.

They browsed, circled around a stall and changed direction to dip through a small crowd.

"Hey!"

Acaadi glanced over his shoulder. They had slipped through the net, but been spotted. Someone was pointing a finger directly at him. Their focus was specifically on him, not Phalsi.

Suddenly it wasn't a case of being cautiously tailed. They were being chased.

"Run?" Acaadi asked.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She'd done what she could, kept them moving between bodies and different colored areas to drop their tail. Even her lackluster senses could feel something bearing down on them as a voice called out. Not bothering to look, the force whipped around her in a flurry as the wind picked up.

Anything light enough scattered in the force produced breeze.

"Run." She cackled, each step forward she made use of a new idea that had been suggested to her. A slip stream of air guided her along the path of least resistance. What she couldn't sense like Acaadi beside her was mitigated by the sense of where the air was leading a few meters ahead of her.

It wasn't perfect, and more than once her free hand helped push them through a tight spot. Eyes focused on them, and she couldn't place where they were. Someone's hand reached for her, and cut off her train of thought as a body tried to block her path.

 

[Acaadi]

Acaadi ran. He almost felt good for the chance to stretch his legs once more, to feel a hit of controlled adrenaline as he drew the Force around himself. He could feel the noose being thrown around them again. People running parallel paths to cut them off. This was their turf, they were not strangers to this station.

Acaadi dipped his weight as someone blocked the corridor ahead. He slammed his shoulder into the man's chest and sent him sprawling across the floor.

They were on the verge of leaving the busy marketplaces for dark, maze like maintenance sections of the station. A good place to lose their pursuit and themselves.

He heard the sound of a blaster's safety catch above all other things. Acaadi stopped suddenly, turned sharply.

Snap-hiss was followed by a thrum of a single swipe of a lightsaber. Half of a blaster clattered to the floor.

"Hey! We just wanted to talk!"

Acaadi kept his saber low as more of their pursuers filtered into the corridor behind them.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

Acaadi bowled over the would be body blocker, letting them into the back areas as a small sound resounded off the walls. It wasn't a sound she'd heard very often, but it was a memorable one.

The unique sound of a lightsaber followed shortly after paired with the remains of a blaster had her spinning around to examine the scene behind them. Drawing the force inward, the wind that had been guiding them dissipated before entwining itself between her legs.

She finally noticed the majority of the eyes were set upon Acaadi rather than her. Whether because he was the obvious threat, or something else she couldn't say. Leaning in close enough to Acaadi, she whispered into his ear.

"I'm usually the one in trouble. You know them?"

Giving off the guise still of an unknowing girlfriend as she nervously glanced between those gathering. Her hand on his shoulder, he could feel the concentration she was putting into the force in preparation.

 

[Acaadi]

"No..." said Acaadi over his shoulder. His eyes never left the assembling group.

Phalsi was drawing the Force about herself too. He could feel the shift in its flow. He tried to impart that he would send out a sudden telekinetic wave to stagger the group if this went sideways.

"Go on then, talk," Acaadi prompted, keeping his saber lit.

"Tell it to come forward," one of the men called back. Acaadi was trying to look as if he felt in control of the situation. He did not feel in control of the situation.

He felt even less in control as something unexpected happened. A droid with a smooth, blank face stepped through the crowd.

A holographic image flickered into life across its blank face. It showed the face of an ageing human. He looked Acaadi up and down.

"I thought I had an arrangement with the local sector ranger so why do I have a Jedi snooping around in our business?"

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

The emotional current Phalsi was sharing this time around drifted between humorous disbelief and anxiety. Using the latter to shrink behind Acaadi. Still playing up the Bespin-headed girlfriend act as she affirmed the feeling he shared.

The short exchange between Acaadi and the goons had her peering around his frame in disbelief however. More so when the droid spoke.

They have a dea-. Wait...he said a jedi.

Indignation set in as she prepared to open her mouth to dispute the claim of there only being one Jedi present. Thankfully she'd been prepared for moments like this with the sisters, and perhaps in situations similar to the one they were in currently.

Instead channeling that energy to give Acaadi an incredulous gasp alongside promptly giving him a shove.

"You said this was a date. Did you bring me on one of your missions again!?" Her tone was sharp and cutting, desperately trying to shove the feeling of guilt his way for doing this.

 

[Acaadi]

Acaadi didn't have to play the part of surprise. Not even slightly. His finally let the group out of his sight as he turned towards Phalsi.

"What is this? Amateur hour?" asked the man through his droid proxy. His expression betrayed something half way between amusement and anger.

"You use an innocent girl as cover to investigate me."

The droid shook it's head. Acaadi assumed it mirrored the actions of the syndicate leader, wherever he was. There was no way he could reach his mind from here. A crude but effective plan.

"Look, I'm not here about you," Acaadi protested.

The droid looked past him towards Phalsi for the first time. He was the kind of gangster who followed some kind of moral code. The kind that wouldn't let him torture the loved ones of those who stood in his way.

"Girl, you might want to head back to the star port. Run along now."

There was a code, but also a helping of misogyny thrown in.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

Her plan had worked, granted Acaadi hadn't caught onto the idea as he spun on her. Not letting the irritated facade fall away, made easier by the droid proxy ignoring her for some time, she huffed and separated herself from him after prompted.

She hoped he felt the will for patience in her emotions, he body weaving in between those in front of them as she made for the connecting alleys before turning about and tugging on the long coat of one of the goons that had surrounded them.

Irritation filled their face as they whipped around to face her as she put her hands together in a pleading way.

"Could you get me out of this maze? This is my first time here." She focused herself in the force, the alleyway leading out filling with forced air as she plotted her next move to help Acaadi.

 

[Acaadi]

Beyond holding a lightsaber steady, Acaadi felt his control on everything else on the situation slipping.

All those hours of honing his skills and in meditation. It was dawning on him more and more that it wasn't just ability that a jedi needed, it was being able to make the right decisions.

"Why don't you put down the glowstick and come have a chat about what you're doing here?" the man pasted onto a droid asked.

Acaadi sensed it was the kind of chat that involved a hammer and his fingertips.

He had a chance. There was cover and he was fast. It was a fight that would spill over and any chance of catching a sith cult unawares would be lost.

"Could you get me out of this maze? This is my first time here."

The goon turned all the way about, looming over Phalsi. He placed one hand on her shoulder and pointed beyond her with the other.

"Just keeping walking that way."

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

She blinked behind her hands. The shadow the goon cast over her perhaps hiding her eyes as the irritated twitch of her brow was the only sign of her waning patience.

A deep sigh followed as a pair of wrinkled hands took hold of her arm. A small, hunched over figure in a pulled cloak seemed to appear out of thin air beside them.

"Come come dear. These boys aren't friendly for long." A voice called from beneath the hood. Barely up to Phalsi's shoulder, the strength behind those hands was alarming as she tried to argue. Sparing a glance to Acaadi as she was pulled down the alley.

The whisp of force power that had accumulated dissipating with the surprise.

"Ma'am. Tha-thank you." Came the stammering thanks. A look of alarm and part concern covering her features as she watched the group slowly drift out of sight around the corridor.

The slow amble changing to a brisk strut as the hunched figure stood upright and matched her height. The flick on a panel had a doorway hissing open as she was pulled into a maintenance tunnel and pushed inside.

"Miss Drynchen, you have a penchant for finding trouble, no?" A familair tone coming across the air as the door shut behind them. Her eyes widened at the sight of another sister standing before her when the hood was pulled back.

"Give me the cloak. And some clothes. I have to-" a hand rose to silence her.

"The rangers know. But that's a delicate situation bubbling out there. You want to charge into it without thinking?" The sister spoke harshly, taking the robe off and setting it aside a small access panel, eyes holding Phalsi in place.

"If it means saving him, yes. And I don't have to kill anyone to do it." She snapped back, earning a sharp rap on the head from the other.

"Just give me a moment, petal. I said without planning. Not that I wouldn't help you." The access panel popped open, a duffel being pulled out as clothes were produced. "Change swiftly. I'll take the top of the alleyway. Cover your face."

 

[Acaadi]

A soft zoop and his lightsaber was extinguished. The droid held out its hand for the weapon, but Acaadi clipped it back to his belt. There were jedi who could deal with entire battalions of soldiers with nothing but the Force, but Acaadi wasn't one of them.

The two weapons gave him the smallest measure of confidence in the situation. The ring leader was probably confident of his hold over the station, but Acaadi had faced sith Lords with plans that spanned the galaxy.

His confidence had taken a beating from the incident at the spaceport. He stretched out with his senses to make sure that Phalsi wasn't in immediate danger.

He was still a little confused by her swift exit from the situation.

"I'll come with you," Acaadi said, "But I've got no interest in you and...whatever your business is..."

He waved in the vague direction of the enforcers.

"Take him to fifteen-bee," said the holographic face on the droid, before it faded away.

They kept their distance from Acaadi as they led him away. One group stayed ahead, another behind him. They quickly led him from the promenade into a more industrious section of the station.

 

[Phalsi Drynchen]

The pair changed as quickly as they could. Clothes fitting for blending in with their surroundings as Phalsi pulled her mask out. The soft whistle from her senior sister was ignored as the duffel was stowed and locked up. They left the side access, the sister taking a step and throwing herself upward against the wall.

Finding purchase, she hoisted herself up further before turning her head and speaking in what most would wave off as mad gibberish. The Mistryl battle language passing between the two as instructions were shared before the sister vaulted across the span and left Phalsi to her task.

Her androgynous form shuffled around the corner from where she had been shoved from. Face and hair hidden behind the black and blue mask as she retraced her steps and found the alley empty. The sharp sound of annoyance brief as she looked up and watched for the handsigns.

The senior sister directed her along, guiding her through the back portions until she caught the tail of an enforcer turning a corner. She followed behind until she finally saw all of the goons in one glance. The senior sister making another gesture as they kept trudging forward.

The worry of what they were going to do something that gave her a false step and kicked a container over. The sound resonating with a high pitched keening as she ducked behind an inlet and waited. The senior sister pausing long enough in her strides to signal to Phalsi.

 

[Acaadi]

There was a pause at the sound of the something being tipped over down the alleys behind them. They had fanned out around them as they came to a halt. From the dials and pipes along the walls, Acaadi guessed this was some kind of interchange for power and water systems for the sector of the station.

He could only think they had fanned out around him to make sure that one of them could put him down with a blaster if it came to it.

The face reappeared on the droid. It waved a hand and two enforcers went back down the corridor. Acaadi didn't know if they were going to lock a door or to check out the sound.

"Now...let me introduce myself. I am Gallish Keetan. You are Acaadi Tam. This is my station and I want to know what you're doing on it using some local girl as cover?"

The pleasantries in his tone were edged with threat. Someone had a registry of known Jedi and he was on it. This was going to undermine Phalsi's efforts.

He sensed a hand close to a blaster behind him when he answer was slow to come.

"I'm not interested in your business. Check the traffic control, I wanted to land on the planet."

"Stun him, take his weapons, we'll get the truth out of him later."