First Reply Is the Thief of Joy

[Ran Serys]

Nar Shaddaa - Undercity

Ran Serys sat at the edge of the counter in the Nar Shaddaa Cantina. The Bartender polished a glass while eyeing her. He was trying to get a good look at the face she kept so carefully concealed in the shadows of her hood. She didn’t eye him back. She knew better than to eye the bartender in a place like this. She was an outsider and doing so would only bring trouble her way. Instead she turned away, scanned the crowd, and sipped her drink, not lingering too long on any one foreign form.

She was looking for someone. A ship thief. The thief that stole her ship. A ship that had been in her possession for too many years, The Onyx Runner. She had gotten it basically for free, through playing a lucky hand of Sabacc. The thought had crossed her mind to forget about it. Like a smuggler, the Jedi Master had other ships stashed, a few on Selvaris came to mind, but she wanted “her” ship. It housed so many precious memories, and as a person with a limited amount of good ones, she decided she couldn’t leave them behind even metaphorically. There were also lightsaber schematics, her personal holocron, and a few datapads worth of journals containing dangerous data that would be better left in her care than anyone else’s. She had to find this thief and her ship.

That’s when she saw a young twi’lek man flashing credits, and miming some hotwiring techniques, as he bragged to a group of friends. Bingo! She thought to herself as she downed the rest of her drink and prepared to traverse the capacity and sordid crowd between her and the suspected thief.

Tags: Open
​

 

[Alexander Hayes]

IS THE THIEF OF JOY

Ever since the Galactic Alliance had fallen, Alexander had become quite familiar with a variety of cantinas. The one in Nar Shaddaa’s Undercity was no different, although the K’paur favoured this one for potential mercenary work.

It was the only thing keeping him from just floating around the galaxy aimlessly. Being an Alliance marine had been that focus for so long. Part of him missed his brothers and sisters in arms, but at the same time Alex was no stranger to working as a lone wolf.

Meant he got paid handsomely for taking jobs more suited for two or three people. Higher the risk, the higher the reward; and the adrenaline that accompanied it. Of all the highs that Alex had been chasing however, gambling hadn’t been one of them, ironically enough.

Guess I haven’t fallen too far if I haven’t been gripped by that vice.

But that was to say nothing about his reckless gambling of his own life every other day.

Alexander grumbled something under his breath, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind. He was seated in a small booth, tucked away in a corner so he could observe those entering and leaving. That’s when he caught sight of her; tall, hooded, female. Nothing too out of the ordinary for this neighbourhood, but the K’paur recognised it when someone was on a mission. It was the way she was glancing around; searching, while trying to keep their face as obscured as possible.

Someone who's concerned that they’d be recognised?

That got Alexander’s interest, and he kept a watchful eye for when the stranger looked towards his general direction.

Green skin, markings over lower lip and chin, below eyes too. Mirialian.

But then something in the back of the K’paur’s head sparked…he recognised her. A name didn’t surface, but Alexander remembered faces.

However, before he could muse any further about it, he caught sight of what she was seemingly after. A group of youngsters, one a male Twi’lek who was making a show of some credits. For a moment he wondered what the mysterious Mirialian wanted with them, until he caught sight of something else.

Without skipping a beat, the K’paur finished his own drink and made a move towards the bar.

“Careful. Three tables to the left of your mark. You’re not the only one eyeing them up.” Alexander spoke in a hushed tone, just enough for Ran to hear, as he casually slid onto the stool next to her.

Tags: Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

As Ran leaned forward to escape her stool, she stopped. She caught the hushed words of the man who so deftly positioned himself onto the stool beside her and paused. She didn't look at the man, but she did heed his warning. A quick glance at the other side of the Cantina and she could see she was right to. Three tables to the left of the Twi'lek male was a trio of rough looking spacers, the kind that didn't need much to give off an aura of quiet menace, and they were watching the Twi'lek with interest.

Ran could see it as she had so many times before, the subtle hints of the spacer's blasters hidden under their heavy jackets while knives and other small bludgeoning weapons were kept inside boots. She wondered if they were there to rob him, or if they, like her, were on the wrong side of a recovery mission. Whatever the case, it seemed they were waiting for the right time to strike which gave Ran more time to reevaluate and think on how she'd proceed.

"Thank you for the tip, Stranger." Ran turned to him. "Now what do you want for it?" She eyed the man, slightly pulling back her hood and breaking one of her rules of engagement only because he had broken them first. "I don't mean to offend but I assume you haven't pointed those men out because you're an altruist? Or am I wrong?" The Jedi questioned plainly and doubtfully. To find someone acting out of the goodness of their heart on Nar Shaddaa would be nothing short of a miracle.

Tags: Alexander Hayes
​

 

[Alexander Hayes]

IS THE THIEF OF JOY

Now that she had pulled her hood back a bit, Alex was able to get a better look at the mysterious woman. It cemented his belief she was someone he had seen before, but not directly integrated with until today.

Which meant that she too was once part of the Galactic Alliance.

But which group? She’s not ringing any bells within the GADF at least.

“Credits typically, but we can discuss an exact amount later.” The corner of Alexander’s mouth quirked ever slightly. “Right now? I’m interested in getting up to some mischief, that just so happens to also lend a helping hand in the process.” His mouth shifted to outright smirk.

Alexander spared a glance back towards the other side of the cantina. Eyes scanning for changes, but so far it seemed that no one else was paying the Twi’lek beyond the three spacers.

“So what’s the deal? Something tells me that unlike our third party here, the credits aren’t exactly what you’re after.”

Tags: Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

The stranger wanted mischief and a negotiable amount of credits in exchange for services rendered. While Ran considered it a fair price to pay to get her ship back, the offer still seemed too good to be true. She would still take it, because beggars couldn’t be choosers, especially on Nar Shaddaa. Plus, he had sharp eyes and had already helped her once. She decided that had to count for something, even if it did seem too convenient.

“The deal is, Stranger, that you’re right.” Ran admitted. “I’ve got no interest in credits. I’m here for my ship, and I have it on good authority that that young man has stolen it. Considering the credits in his pocket, I want to know what he did with it.” She informed candidly, as the young rutian twi’lek was being congratulated by friends with a round of drinks. She let the moment hang as she watched the twi’lek foot the bill. His spending was drawing more eyes, none more fixed than the spacers. From behind glareshades, they stared intently but didn’t move. They were waiting for something. What that was, Ran couldn’t be sure. But there was time to wait and see.

“You caught me from making a move rather quickly which means you were already watching me. Why?” Ran questioned. “Don’t tell me you also have a secret bone to pick with the young man?” She continued, trying to get more from him than just a mischievous smirk.

Tags: Alexander Hayes
​

 

[Alexander Hayes]

IS THE THIEF OF JOY

Alexander knew she was fairly wary of him, understandable so. She had entered the cantina with her identity concealed, making an active effort to keep it so. And then a stranger suddenly saddled up right before she could make a move? Yeah he’d be suspicious of this being too good to be true.

In a way, he was living up to his moniker by presenting a gamble to her. Trust that he was being true to his word, or reject the offer and go on alone. Which, the K’paur suspected she was more than capable of handling.

But then again, two heads were better than one right?

And Alex had a very durable head.

“I see…” He replied, not bothering to state was very likely the obvious answer to what happened to her ship. As she turned her gaze to watch the Twi’lek and his friends, Alexander’s eyes glanced towards the watchful spacers specifically. He caught one of their number whispering something, another discreetly reaching into their trouser pocket and pulling something out, all the while keeping it obscured beneath the table. The slight shift in the man’s shoulders indicated he was typing something.

A datapad perhaps?

From there, the spacers became almost like statues again, simply watching their target.

Alexander chuckled at Ran’s questioning, returning his attention to her. “Nah, I don’t even know who he is. But I did recognise you.” A beat passed, Alex watching her expression for a few moments, then continued. “Lieutenant Commando Alexander Hayes, at your service…though I suppose formerly is more accurate these days.”

“You’re former Alliance too right? Already ruled out GADF, so either Senate or the Order?”

Tags: Ran Serys​

 

[Ran Serys]

An eyebrow lifted out of caution. Ran had been made, but at least in this case it had been done by a former ally. One Lieutenant Commander Alexander Hayes. The name held some small familiarity, but unfortunately if they had shared a battlefield Ran couldn’t name it.

“Yes,” Ran answered as she shifted in her seat. “The Order.” She confirmed, with a small bit of lingering sadness. She tried not to think of the New Jedi Order, or the Galactic Alliance. She tried not thinking of all the friends, colleagues, and contemporaries that had scattered across the stars, or worse. She also tried not to think of all the worlds that the Galactic Alliance had protected and all the ones that suffered upon its fall. The power vacuum that had been created in its wake had already been filled, and not without some concessions to the former Galactic Alliance's enemies. Try as she might not to think of these things, they always ended up coming back to the forefront of Ran’s mind.

“It is,” She paused to think. “Nice to make your acquaintance, Mister Hayes.” She decided. “I am Ran Serys. For now you may call me Ran. ” She continued leaving the Master Jedi title for less dangerous worlds, before turning her gaze back onto the twi’lek and the other interested party. “Forgive me for prying, Mister Hayes, but if you’re not here for him, then why are you here? In this Bar and on Nar Shaddaa.”

As she listened she watched as the twi’leks cantina buddies started to catch a clue. They were slowly onto the spacers and quickly stiffening. They huddled together and pulled the celebrating twi’lek thief in to warn him. Ran readied for a reaction from the spacers but it never came, at least not soon enough.

Tags: Alexander Hayes
​

 

[Alexander Hayes]

IS THE THIEF OF JOY

Serys.

Now that was a name that Alex recognized.

While he could count on one hand the number of Jedi he had worked with on a one-to-one basis, he had always kept a note of the important figures within the Jedi Order. Notably, there were at one point two ‘Serys’ within the High Council. Which explained why he had been stuck between Senate and the Order, trying to figure out why Ran seemed familiar.

I was thinking of the former Chief Healer, who became First Lady when Alicio became Chancellor.

Meaning the Serys seated before him, had been the Order’s former Head Watchman.

“Likewise to you too, Ran. Though please, do call me Alex; or Alexander, whichever you prefer.” He replied, a small grin on his face. Though the expression slipped away upon her follow up question.

“Drifting.” Was his immediate answer, his expression twisting slightly as if he had tasted something sour. Alex let out a small sigh. “After everything fell apart I wandered aimlessly for a time, bounced around a few places but winded up here. Doing some work, occasional investigatory stuff, but mostly mercenary.”

Alexander’s attention shifted over to the targets, just barely catching fragments of whatever conversation was happening. With all the racket around them, it was difficult to get a full picture, but just going off the reactions; the Twi’lek was panicking.

“Don’t leave, you idiot.” Alex grumbled the words, his eyes watching like a hawk as he things unfolded. The young Twi’lek’s friends were divided, two of them wanted to bail alongside him, with the other three seemed to be complaining about not wanting to leave already. All the while, the spacers remained where they were, watching.

Until finally it all seemed to boil over, and the Twi’lek male shot up from his seat, scrambling to gather his credits and leave. His friends argued and bickered, but they all stood and began to follow.

As did the spacers that had been eyeing them up.

“That’s our cue. Also…I’m fairly certain one of the spacers contacted someone outside. Likely wanting to outnumber the Twi’lek and his friends.”

Tags: Ran Serys​