And So It Begins [Ydrin]

[Lief]

For days he had traveled across the Expansive Regions, carefully avoiding any and all space which was owned. He had no desire to run into Force sects at the moment, and most of them clung to the skirts of large scale governments. Now, for once his movements were not mindless for Shor was very much on the hunt for something. Or more, someone.

Intel had the being cornered on Iktotch, a somewhat arid world inhabited by the horned Iktotchi; why anyone would wish to travel to the windy planet which kicked up the harsh, dusty landscape was beyond him. But its people were known for their precognitive and telepathic techniques, and were often overlooked on this regard. Had someone been wise enough to come to these people for help?

Not that the person he was hunting was wise. He had fled home, and now his family were paying for his return. Begrudgingly alive. Usually Shor wouldn't take on these kind of Bounties, but the family had come to him specifically and they were paying above his usual rate. The downside was that the boy he was after, Ydrin, was said to be slippery. Hopefully this would not turn into some cat and mouse chase across the Galaxy, or Shor might have to squeeze even more money from the fools who couldn't convince their own blood to return to them.

And so he began to descend upon the rocky world, not knowing if he would even find the boy there when he reached the main settlement. One could only hope.

 

[Llkt'tudrin'wyshd]

A sigh escaped the lips of Ydrin as he leant backwards against the wall behind him, the cold and harsh winds of the moon Iktoch rushing past him and threatening to chill him to the bone by extinguishing the flame before him, his only source of light at that moment as night had arrived on the moon. All the while his cloths whipped around his form, being plucked at by the invisible fingers that flew on the breeze. A new light lit up is face, casting his features into a sharper contrast as a small silver lighter was flicked open and the sparks grew into a small flame.

The new light revealed his sharp, strong features inherited from generations of nobles before him, no longer cast in the shadows by his mop of blond hair, along with his unique eyes. The irises of both were a strong, dark purple that were unusual outside of a small minority of species, with the Twi'leks being the most obvious bearers of the pigmentation. But it was not the colour of his eyes that were unique, it was the sclera that was. While the sclera of his left eye was a normal white found in humans, his right was covered by a hazy, black film. This was his birthmark, a Nervus of Ota.*

Snapping his lighter shut, Ydrin took a deep breathe before releasing it and a cloud of smoke taken from the now lit cigarette that hung from his lips. As he continued to take deep breathes, absorbing the nicotine which helped him to think, Ydrin stared into the flames before him, thinking about what had lead him to this.

A few days previously he had been forced to land on the moon after his ship had been ambushed by pirates, something that was ironic to the ex-noble as he himself was a pirate. In the ensuring fire fight, the hull of his ship had been badly damaged and the damage had only been worsened by the jump to hyperspace he had then taken. As such, his ship almost threatening to tear itself to pieces he had landed on the closest mass that had spacefaring civilisation. Iktotch.

Upon exiting the ship, he had been greeted by a crowd of Iktotchi and lead to a settlement nearby. Ydrin had later found out that his arrival had been seen by the precognitive Iktotchi as had his efforts to help a dying child whom the beings had not been able to help. This had all been revealed after Ydrin had finished operating on the young child, forced to do so so as to prevent the internal bleeding inside an organ from continuing and becoming worse. Even now the child was still not well, even if they had woken up.

He had also been told that his ship had been repaired while he was working, returning it condition from scrap to flyable, but had been advised to not leave the moon straight away. He was told that someone was hunting for him and would not just stop and leave him be and that the best way to deal with the situation would be to wait the hunter out on the moon, to wait until the hunter arrived before leaving.

Sighing as he flicked his cigarette away, now just a stump of filter paper, Ydrin spoke up. "Y8, please return to the ship and prepare it for take off at any moment."

Behind the human, a large shadow stirred and two red lights sparked into being above his head. A thud was heard as the shadow stepped forwards, revealing itself to be a large, red droid in the flickering light of the fire. "Statement: As you say, Master, I shall do." Turning, the droid was about to walk off before Ydrin spoke again. "And take Xry with you." In his outstretched hand was a large, slughtrower rifle which was received by the droid soundlessly before it stomped off into the darkness, leaving Ydrin alone.

Reaching to his back, Ydrin pulled his revolver from its holster and began to tap it against his rapier which was secured at his waist. Ydrin had a feeling that a fight was to be on his hands soon.


[member="Shor Laurent"]

*

Spoiler

If I did not describe this properly, look up Daniela Ruah

 

[Lief]

Shor was in no rush. The greatest way to extract an individual was to take them by surprise. Blending into the background. Of course, this was a world of alien species, and Shor was distinctly human, but that didn't stop him from playing the part of a lone visitor all the same. It was not unheard of for people to visit the Iktotchi, after all.

Exiting his vessel, leaving it about a mile out in the desert since there was no real spaceport to speak of where he was going, Shor briefly glanced back to the Pathfinder and frowned. There was nowhere to hold a struggling boy inside, so he'd had to improvise one of the crew cabins instead.

Unaware that his quarry had been informed of his presence, damn the Forcies for that one, Shor wandered through the desert and toward the nearby settlement where he fully expected the boy to be. He couldn't help but wonder what the lads family had done to drive him away, it didn't make sense, Shor did all he could to protect his family, even if that meant he rarely ever saw them. All he did was for the sake of Blaise, for his parents.

The darkness of night had descended upon the planet by the time he was done with his trek, dim lights marking the homes of the natives. In the distance he saw one lone figure, who was most definitely not a native. His eyes narrowed slightly, taking note of the weapons upon his person and the way he was standing. Defensive. This was the boy, and he knew that Shor was here for him. There could be no other explanation.

Only Shor did not reach for his own blaster, not yet at least. Instead he took a few steps from the lingering shadow into the light of one of the lanterns. "I just want to talk" he said, lifting his hands to reveal he had nothing in them. He settled them back to his side afterwards. Would the boy listen to reason, or just flee as he had done to his own parents?

[member="Ydrin"]

 

[Llkt'tudrin'wyshd]

The sounds of footfall approaching him alerted Ydrin to the fact that the fight would be coming to him sooner than he even expected it to do so in the first place. Sighing, Ydrin pushed himself to his feet and reached with his free hand into his jacket to withdraw a second cigarette. Watching the shadowed figure of the man, who was most likely who he had been warned about, slowly approach, Ydrin shifted his thumb, causing a click to ring out as his revolver was cocked. Reaching up with his free hand again, this time with a silver lighter in hand, Ydrin lit the cigarette, his eyes never leaving the approaching male.

As the man finally stepped into the light and his face was revealed, Ydrin brought his revolver to bare while looking over who it was that had come to take him back to the home that served as his prison. He had dark brown hair that was pushed backwards into messy style and had a scruffy beard stretching across his jaw. The man's cold, grey eyes were locked onto Ydrin and he was dressed in dark colours with a jacket hanging over his frame.

The man's hands were raised in the air around his head, open and showing that no weapon was drawn and that no threat was being levelled towards him just yet. Frowning, Ydrin nodded slightly, lowering his own hand, the one holding his weapon.

After being silent for a short while, only stared at the man, Ydrin spoke around the slowly burning cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, a trail of smoke obscuring his face in a thick cloud. "Y-you j-just w-want t-to t=talk?" Ydrin's slightly noble accented voice was kept soft and quiet as he spoke but still managed to carry itself across the distance between the man before him. "S-so... t-talk. A-and d-do i-include y-your n-name i-in y-your l-little s-speech. I would l-like t-to k-n-know th-the n-name o-of th-the m-man h-hunting m-me."


[member="Shor Laurent"]

 

[Lief]

Shor was surprised to see that the boy before him was older than he. No wonder he wanted to get away from the grasp of his parents, who wouldn't want to find their own way in the Galaxy? Then again, it wasn't Shor's place to question the decisions of his employers. By Naboo standards neither of them were deemed adults yet, though Shor had forsaken the culture of his homeworld long ago.

Watching as the boy fumbled to light a cigarette, Shor frowned. He was glad when the blaster was lowered, perhaps they could settle this effortlessly. Then again, the parents wouldn't have called in someone like Shor had their son been easy to track down and bring home.

"Look kid" he began, mentally cringing at the fact that he was more the kid here, "Your parents just want you back safe and sound, alright?" He rolled his eyes when the boy wanted his name, what a ridiculous thing to ask for. Naturally Shor didn't give into the request. "They don't seem to appreciate you leaving'em without a word. I'm just here to talk some sense into you."

And make a bit of change on the side. He didn't really want to be pulling his blaster on a kid, but he'd done far worse and wouldn't hesitate if it came down to it. Still, best he see if he could subdue the situation with words. Not that Shor had a very silver tongue. He had been raised to shoot first and ask questions later, but this was a recovery not a bounty.

[member="Ydrin"]

 

[Llkt'tudrin'wyshd]

A low any wry chuckle left him as he removed the cigarette form his mouth, leaving it dangling between two fingers as the end continued to smoulder. "I-I r-really d-doubt th-they w-want m-me b-back. Th-they w-want th-their p-puppet b-back, th-the o-one th-they k-kept l-locked a-away, th-the o-one th-that th-they g-groomed t-to b-be a-an o-obedient l-little d-dog, th-the o-one th-that w-would d-do a-as th-they s-say, l-like w-what th-they l-like," an ugly sneer crossed Ydrin's features as he briefly stopped talking, "m-marry w-who th-they s-say s-so th-that th-they c-can g-gain m-more p-power." The sneer now transformed into a smug visage. "A-and I-I'm p-pretty s-sure th-that th-they w-want th-the m-money I-I t-took b-back."

Ydrin took a long draw from the burning cigarette before releasing a mouthful of smoke. "I-I n-notice th-that I-I a-am s-still a-at a-an d-disadvantage, I-I d-don't kn-know y-your n-name." Ydrin features seemed to shatter as a mask was destroyed exposing the emotionally dead face and monotone voice bellow. "O-oh w-well. Y-your g-grave c-can b-be u-unmarked."

Before he had even finished speaking, Ydrin's hand had come up, the barrel of his slugthrower pistol aimed at the forehead of the still nameless man. A small amount of pressure placed upon the trigger a millisecond later sent the firing hammer forwards where it would connect with the gunpowder contained beneath the slug. The sudden impact and spark would ignite the fuel in a controlled explosion, all of the energy being directed down the barrel, propelling the bullet with it, until it would emerge with a crack. Flying through the air, the bullet would close the gap between the two young men, impacting the targeted forehead and ending the pursuers life. At the same time, the barrel of the revolver would rotate with a click, lining up a fresh chamber for use.

Or rather, that is what would have happened, if the chamber had been loaded and not empty. Ydrin always kept one chamber void of a slug so that he could use it as a threat or to fake a death or to cause a distraction. The latter scenario was the reasoning behind Ydrin's actions.

As soon as the trigger had been compressed, Ydrin had turned and ran, setting into a sprint made out of long, looping strides as he retreated. The cigarette dropped from his hand to land in the puddle of fuel before him, the still lit end providing the ignition for the new set of flames that now accompanied the bonfire. Flames that Ydrin hoped would serve as a method of gaining time, even if said time was only a few seconds.


[member="Shor Laurent"]