Private Never Get High On Your Own Supply

[Iris Arani]

Denon had it's problems, she knew that much, but one of the worst was the drugs. It was a problem she'd been trying to figure out how to tackle herself, but if she was honest? There was no real answer to it. Not one she could solve by herself. The most she could do now? Be the doctor she was. Another spice den, more patients to take care of. Normally they'd be arrested for the drugs in their system, which was part of the reason why she came here herself. If they made a problem, she could handle herself.

She was a Jedi, after all.

Not that she particularly felt like one right now. She grumbled as he hoisted up the body of another addict that was clearly in the midst's of an OD. Shistavanen by appearance. Hopefully, given the medicine she'd just injected into his neck to halt the effects and get him conscious.

"Hey, hey. Eyes open. I gotta check you and make sure you're not having a brain hemorrhage or something."

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

The Shistavanen was completely unresponsive as Iris hoisted him up. Eyes were rolled back into his head as he sat motionless between all the other dregs around him. Finally he came to with a heavy gasp and harsh coughs. "I'll bring it... I'll... kriff..." He toppled over as his stomach emptied itself on the floor, allowing Yuri to finally come back to reality and take in his surroundings.

"Where the kriff..." He blinked a few times as glossy eyes tried to concentrate on the figure standing over him. "You smell funny." He remarked with a weak chuckle. He finally hoisted himself onto a sofa and laid back, idly massaging his head with a long groan. "What the kriff happened? Who are you?" He looked at the others around him for a long moment. "I was... sitting here... next moment my dad was... tellin' me I screwed up." With confusion he turned his attention back to the girl as he looked for his shirt.

After a few moments his eyes went wide. "Yo, did I die?" He asked the girl softly.

She looked worse for wear, scars and marks dotting her features. Not that he could comment, he didn't look much better. Regardless, she likely saved his life.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"I smell better than you."

At least he was up and moving. No brain hemorrhage there. Not that she let him move around much, instead reaching up to hold his head still while she made sure his eyes weren't all messed up. Alive and well was the goal, even for what seemed like a spice addict.

"No, not yet anyway. Keep this up and you probably will though. Why the hell are you bothering with these kinds of drugs."

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

Yuri's face contorted into a confused frown as he looked up at his saviour. "You seriously giving me a pep talk? In a den?" He motioned to his surroundings and the people loafing around. "Anyway, was dad's supply. Holy kriff that's some good stuff." He remarked with a blissful smile.

He idly ushered her hands away and finally pushed himself out of the sofa to stumble around in search of his personal items. "You never answered, by the way. Who are you? And where the hell are we? This ain't Coruscant, stink's different." He spared a quick glance at the girl over his shoulder as he donned his personal effects. Shirt, hoodie, holster, and finally his satchel. Though a glance inside drew a growl from him.

The Shistavanen marched over to a nearby group hunched over a table and started slapping them all out of the way, all to take a couple of packets still on the table. "That's mine." He snarled, turning to leave. "Well darling, this is the part where I'd take you out for dinner, but that ship's probably sailed, huh?" He chuckled at his own pathetic joke as he carefully wandered towards the exit. "Karkin' hell, I need some caf. Where's a good... whoa..."

His thoughts were interrupted by the bright lights and neon skyline of Denon. Ships flying overhead, people moving around on the upper levels, the commotion made his head spin all over again. "Yeah, I'm gonna be sick again..."

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

She watched and listened to him for a moment. Then sighed as he immediately went back to make sure he got his spice. Typical addict behavior, but she wasn't really here to cure the addiction. Just stop some people from dying so they might, hopefully, stop on their own. He seemed to be a lost cause though. And a rambler. An unamused frown took over as she watched him step outside and promptly talk about throwing up.

"Yeah, that's not surprising. You standing up is. If you stopped rambling on and listened you'd know you need to lay down and recover for a bit. You did literally just die, medically speaking. Most people have an awakening and want to y'know, get clean. Planning on just dying somewhere else again?"

Not that she was going to stop him. Iris instead made sure all her equipment was stored up. Secure. Very, very secure. She knew better than to have drugs easily available in a spice den like here.

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

Leaning against the doorway, Yuri took his eyes off the overhead traffic and glared at the woman. "Thought you said I didn't. Die, I mean." His demeanour shifted quite significantly, a darker expression taking hold as he dealt with the realisation. With a frown he looked back at her. "Listen, thanks for the help. But don't come throwing insults at me. You don't know me and mine." He muttered. "You're soundin' like a Jedi or something." He looked himself over and pushed off the doorframe to enter the streets, however he paused for a moment and turned back at the girl.

"I know I made a joke, but can I at least stick you for a drink or some chow? You did save my life, after all." He asked her with a somewhat strained voice. Getting some food in would do him good. And, as begrudging as it was, he did owe her for saving his life. A meal was the least he could do.

Sticking close to the wall for balance, Yuri entered the sidewalk and looked around in hopes of getting his bearings. He still didn't have a clue of where he was. A guy with more chome on his body than skin merely added to his questions. "You never answered, by the way." He turned slowly to face the stranger. "Where the hell are we?" He asked again.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"No, see, stop that."

She raised a hand, pointed a finger directly at him. Her eyes, though, weren't as focused on him as they were just on the air around him. Scanning, searching. The colors in her eyes. The Force, his presence in it, what he was and what his intentions were. He seemed to be having difficulty recovering from the side effects. Iris full on stopped him from walking any further on the street. Even with her eyes seeming unfocused, the frown on her face and the tone she held was more than enough to show just how much she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"You're jumping between topics before I even have a chance to process what you said. I can't keep up in a place like this, there's too much noise. Yes, Jedi. Sure, I like food. We're on Denon. They got a burger joint down the street that makes some good ones."

Then she turned, walking forward right towards where the diner was that she mentioned.

"Anything else I missed that you want to ask while I can still focus on it?"

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

The girl rushed over and halted him from walking further, but what caught his attention was her eyes shifting all around him. He glanced behind him to try and see what she was looking at, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Before he could ask, she ran through his questions in record time and somehow scolded him at the same time. He tried not to chuckle at her words, though her answers did create more questions. At least she agreed to get some food with him.

"Anything else I missed that you want to ask while I can still focus on it?"

"Your name." He answered simply, holding out a shaking hand for her. "Yuri Maji." He introduced himself to her. With that over with, he followed after her to the burger joint she was talking about. He remained quiet as he thought about what she said. Denon. Jedi. How the hell did he end up on Denon and, more importantly, was she talking smack or was she serious? Her, a Jedi? Not a chance was this char-grilled chop of a girl a Jedi. An easy answer would be their trademark weapon, but he didn't see a lightsaber on her. She could be hiding it, that would make more sense.

Once they were sorted with food, Yuri took an impressive bite before turning his attention to the girl. "You're a Jedi?" He asked her softly. "Don't really look the type. Where's your glowstick?" He asked her as he sat back to take another bite of his meal. His stomach was a little sensitive, but that luckily passed once the food did its job.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"Oh. Right. Iris."

Her name. She was always forgetting to tell people her name. She frowned a little, staring at the ground for a brief moment before renewing her walk towards the diner. It wasn't her favorite here on Denon, but the one she liked was.. Closed. Long closed. There was no other term for it that didn't fill her with absolute sadness. For some, all it took was knowing a Jedi frequented for the people there to be a target.

She took a bite of her own burger, relaxing back in her chair for a moment with a frown.

"Domxite has it. Carrying a lightsaber freely on Denon is a surefire way to get yourself, or those around you, targeted." Was the excuse. She still couldn't hold her lightsaber without a pure panic attack ripping through her mind. Not that she was going to tell the spice addict that.

"I'm more of a doctor these days, though."

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

Yuri nodded at her explanation as he chewed on his burger. It certainly did a good job at giving him some new life. "Hope whoever Domite is, he's doin' a good job at keepin' it safe." He remarked. "Dunno how bein' a Jedi's a target out here. Core's your turf, that's where you guys get some stuff done. If was the outer rim, it would've been a different story." He continued before swallowing the last bite of his meal. "Hold that thought."

He stood up and wandered over to the stall to order three more burgers before returning to the supposed Jedi. "Don't take this the wrong way... but how am I supposed to believe you. Hell, would you believe I'm a highly trained soldier if I just told you?" He commented as he picked away at his fries.

"Claiming you're a warrior of one of the greatest orders of all time isn't exactly something you just believe from anyone." He continued as he sat back, sipping at a tin of soda.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"You've never been to Denon before, have you?"

That only made the fact he ended up here that much more wild. She stared at him in-between bites of her own burger. She certainly was as quick to finish her own food as he'd been, but there was some worry there in her eyes. To get that high and end up here of all places? "The people here are empowered by the local law. They know how to twist it, and they know what paths to take to avoid taking the blame. And people here are desperate enough to be used."

She paused though, raising a brow. Then just reached a hand up. The soda he was drinking just calmly floated over to her hand as she took a sip from it. "We could brawl, too. But you did just die so I recommend taking it easy."

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

"I've been here a couple times, mostly work related. It's worse than Coruscant, though, so I'm not exactly keen to stick around here. Still... dunno how I ended up here with this visit." He explained calmly as he helped himself to a few fries. She gave an explanation of the social situation on the planet, though he stopped paying attention as his drink simply drifted into her hand.

"Huh..." He watched in awe for a moment. He chuckled at the proposition of a brawl, but quickly waved away the idea. "Feelin' a bit sensitive at the moment, so nah. Brawl could wait." He flashed a wink at the girl with a toothy grin. "Wouldn't wanna hurt ya after savin' my life." He teased, reaching over to reclaim his soda. The two new burgers soon arrived and he dug in relentlessly.

He was feeling a little bit more like himself after swallowing the last bit of burger. Curiosity got the better of him and he pulled out his datapad to check what he missed out on. His eyes went wide as he studied his messages. "I think I know how I ended up here." He remarked, glancing up at her from his screen. "Apparently I had stock that needed collecting. Weapons from a group called CorpSec." He explained, letting out a nervous chuckle. He hoped she wasn't planning on arresting him or something.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"You're the dumb kind of criminal, aren't you?"

Iris reached out to take up a milkshake she'd gotten to take a long sip from. That's how he ended up here? An arms deal with CorpSec? And he got stupid high in the process so he didn't even remember? That was the kind of mentality she expected from spice addicts, but for CorpSec to make a deal with someone like that? They either didn't do their research, which was unlike them, or the deal he offered was something they couldn't pass up on.

Or they wanted a fall guy. That made more sense.

"You're likely a scapegoat, then. Did you already pick up the guns?"

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

Yuri blinked and glanced up at the girl with a frown at her comment. "Hey! I ain't stupid. Just... distracted." His voice trailed off as he looked down at his datapad again. Thankfully he didn't lose it like the last time. She suggested that he could have been a scapegoat as he continued to sift through his messages and details to piece his blurry memory together. "Didn't seem like it, seemed like a typical deal. Sell off equipment and get some cash..." He muttered, digging deeper into everything that transpired.

"Oh." He looked up at her with a raised brow. "Think you might be onto something, sis." He commented softly as he showed her his datapad. On display was a bounty along with a photo of his face. "Jeez, and I thought using dad's product was gonna be the biggest of my issues." He remarked to himself as he continued to scroll. "At least get a better picture, hot damn. Guys are making me look like some kinda junkie." He complained, swiping the picture away.

His hair began to stand up along the back of his neck. The realisation was starting to get to him, prompting the Shistavanen to glance around him. "Okay, so I'm apparently wanted by Denon's police force and some guys are tellin' me I'm in for a ride... and there's a cash shortage in the mix... on a scale of one to Coruscant Supermax, how karked am I?" He asked Iris with a nervous smile as he glanced up at her. Last thing he needed was to square off with a Jedi without his armour.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

What.

Iris stared at him for a moment longer before reaching out to take the datapad herself to stare it over. Sell off equipment and this is the kind of bounty he got? Her gaze turned from him as she stopped listening. Didn't answer. There was a panic in her eyes now. She knew how this worked. When the Corpos wanted someone gone like this, the whole underworld was going to be in on it. "We're leaving."

She practically scattered credits on the table to pay for it before reaching over to tug him up.

"Where's your ship?"

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

Yuri was feeling quite anxious now, though it seemed his companion was borderline freaking out upon seeing the datapad. She asked about his ship and Yuri paused for a moment with a finger in the air. "Damn good question." He took the datapad back and poked around. He finally got a response from his droid and a smile formed. "Ah, pad five at dock sixteen..." His smile dimmed as he checked where it was. "Bit of a walk, looks like its on a different level." He explained to her.

He finished off his meal and drink before lifting himself out of his seat with a groan. "What's got you so spooked? Just some cops, no big deal." He asked her as he gave a light jog to catch up with her.

As he walked with her, Yuri noticed a group of some unsavoury characters glancing at him then at a holoprojector in their hands. Their eyes locked onto him as they began to speak to each other. "Ah, looks like the bounty's out." He remarked with a nod to the group. His left hand slid down to his pistol as he kept an eye on the group, who started to tail the duo.

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"It's not cops that are coming. It's Corpo. Their private militia. You're death is what's going to get them a payout on all levels." Money was what made Denon go round. She hurried, more, as she tried not to look back at the group that was starting to follow them. She didn't want to think about that right now. She was as much a target as him, just because she was last seen with him. She knew how this worked.

"If you don't want to die again, I suggest you take this more seriously. We're going to be targeted."

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

Her warnings did have an effect on him, he could not deny that. Having a whole government come after someone isn't just another walk in the park. He maintained his cool smile as he looked at Iris. "Let's be real, though. You think a government will waste that much resources just for one smuggler?" He remarked, though in hindsight she probably wouldn't find it amusing. It was odd to see a Jedi be this concerned. She was genuinely terrified and he couldn't do the same. Maybe she knew something he did not... or she was overreacting.

"How's it you're so afraid of these guys? If you're a Jedi, it shouldn't be that bad for you." He remarked, following her through the streets. The group behind them were gaining, they clearly had some kind of game plan Yuri wasn't interested in learning. He tugged at Iris' arm and gestured to an alleyway before changing his route. As if on queue, the pursuers went from a walk to a full run to catch up with the two oddballs.

Yuri, however, took a stand and drew his pistol, waiting for them to enter before letting loose at the group. Blaster bolts lit up the alley as his weapon howled against the night. "There, now let's get a karkin' speeder or something." He spoke with a cold voice as he glanced at Iris. His eyes went wide as he saw something shift in the shadows of the alley. "Iris, behind you!"

Iris Arani

 

[Iris Arani]

"For a profit? Absolutely. Denon isn't government, it's corporations. If there's enough money to be made they'll invest." That's all it'd ever take. Enough money to outweigh the cost. And with how much they were willing to pay for Yuri? Iris grumbled in annoyance, glancing behind them at the group that was still following. Then blinked as he tugged her along into some alley to pull a gun.

She blinked, staring at it. Blasterfire had her absolutely frozen. Unwilling or just incapable of moving. Panic. Pure terror and panic filled her mind. It was like the war all over again, being shot at. She wanted to reach for her saber, but she didn't have it. Domxite had it. She still had the other, but.. That one she didn't want to touch. Behind her? Iris barely turned to see the muzzle of another blaster.

Iris sprang forward finally. The threat on her life was enough for her to devolve back into her training. Detachment, compartmentalization. Panic didn't do her any good if she died. With a cold form of precision she knocked the gun away, twisted it from the owners grasp, and put two bolts in their head before turning to open fire on the group still around the corner.

"Speeder is a good idea." She turned, looking about. The hunters would likely bring their own. Which meant.. Yep. She narrowed her eyes on one before raising the blaster to try and shoot the driver. Close range she wasn't a bad shot. Farther?

Not the best.

"That one. Get the driver."

Yuri Maji

 

[Yuri Maji]

Her hesitation was abnormal. Even in the moment, Yuri took note of her frozen stature until she managed to disarm and dispatch the last attacker. Once again her whole demeanour flipped as she became practically robotic in her actions. She took note of a speeder parked on the other side of the alley and Yuri sprinted after it just as it began to take off.

He knelt down, grasped his pistol with both hands and took careful aim, finally unleashing a bolt through the back window and into the head of the driver. A rather lucky shot if his current condition had to be taken into account. Regardless, the shot hit home and the driver was taken care of... which sent the speeder veering off and slamming into a barrier down the walkway. Several people ran away and screamed at the sudden crash and gunfire, prompting Yuri to wave at Iris. "Let's go!" He called out before sprinting to the downed speeder.

The dead body was yanked out and Yuri hopped into the driver's seat, already starting to resurrect the stalled speeder. Several colourful words in Mando'a and Huttese passed his lips before the vehicle began to levitate and take off. With a moment of peace and quiet between them, the Shistavanen glanced at Iris with a frown. "You froze up back there." He remarked.

Taking a sharp turn and passing several airspeeders locked in traffic, Yuri kept his eyes on the skylane but didn't take his mind off it. "You don't carry a lightsaber... you freeze up in the middle of a fight... you some kinda fraud or is it something else?" He asked her rather curtly, a hint of irritability in his voice. Last thing he needed was for his temporary companion to be the cause of his next death.

Iris Arani