Private Stumbled Down the Wrong Alley

[Kostodu Xyston]

Ah. The Entertainment District. What a hive of fun and good times. Kostodu knew that there were... less family friendly parts of this district, but he would stick to the cheerful section. After all, the bad places were pretty hard to find. Now, Kostodu stepped into a dimly lit room, part of the larger tavern with the brightest neon sign he'd ever seen outside. The competition between the places in the Entertainment District was fierce for who had the best neon sign. But this place had to take the trophy for nearly blinding the Twi'lek.

Kostodu stepped into the corner by the entrance and folded his arms over his chest, a cup of some random liquid in hand.. "What is this room..." he wondered to himself. As if the universe heard him, multicolored lights flashed on and waved around the room, revealing several other people who were hidden in the dark before. A disco ball was hanging from the middle of the ceiling. Uh oh.

And then the music came on. A glassy-eyed Cerean next to the Padawan started singing. A karaoke room. Not his thing. Kostodu quickly exited the room, then the entire tavern out into the rainy street. He pulled his tan hood over his head and sighed. The Entertainment District was fun, sure...but only when you had friends. And Kostodu was alone currently.

He wandered off into an alley to find a dumpster for his cup. Meanwhile, his mind wandered. I'll never complete my Padawan years alone...I need friends. Another voice popped into his head. It had the Twi'lek's voice, but it wasn't Kostodu Xyston, for sure. Well, too bad. You're not good at socializing and you know it. You're the clumsiest Jedi in the galaxy, and everyone else can see it.

Kostodu grimaced and shoved the voice out of his head. And realized he wasn't in the same alley. "Uh..."

Somehow, he had walked through a labyrinth of alleyways and ended up in the middle of nowhere. Out here, he couldn't even see any of the neon lights that had been so prominent earlier. The rain intensified, pounding the ferracrete beneath him with fury. This day kept getting worse and worse.

Alright, I have to find a way out of here. Maybe I can find someone?

And so began his search. Maybe half an hour passed before he saw lights. They were dim, and a good distance away, but he could make it there if he tried. Kostodu took one step, and plummeted. The Padawan cried out in surprise, his limbs flailing uselessly. However, his mind was concentrating on cushioning his fall.

Seconds later, he hit the ground on his right shoulder. Pop!

Oh no. That was his dominant arm. But thankfully he wasn't dead, so that was a plus. Kostodu struggled to his feet and immediately set off to find... lights. Straight ahead. And people too. "Excuse me! Hey!"

A Devaronian heard him and turned around. Kostodu caught up to him shortly. "Ah, hello. I fell down here and-"

"JEDI!!!!" the man exclaimed, grabbing the Twi'lek and picking him up.

"Put me down, crazy!" Kostodu protested, kicking at the man's forehead. Bad idea. A horn scraped his calf and the Padawan grunted in pain. So there was only one thing he could do in this hostile situation.

His lightsaber leapt out from his robes and into his left hand. Kostodu switched it on, and the main blade activated, followed by the crossguards, bathing the street in an emerald glow. The Twi'lek slashed down at the Devaronian's arms, severing one of them at the elbow. Before he could apologize, he was dropped to the ground, the air escaping him from the impact.

Maybe there were other good people here in this...market? "Help! Help!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Surely someone could help?

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Seedy districts and dark alleyways were like a second home to Gatz. That was funny in a way, because he'd spent his formulative years in the Jedi Temple here on Coruscant, and later the idyllic streets of Theed. And yet, despite growing up in relatively crime-free places, it was these more dangerous and less ethically upstanding spots that felt the most comfortable to him. Even now, a year after giving up on a scoundrel's life.

Gatz was Nubian through and through. Just as much as Duchess Briana Sal-Soren herself was. But a part of him was unmistakenly of Nar Shaddaa; six years of working for the Hutts meant that their filth was a part of him now, and always would be. Their crime infested worlds had become his ecological niche, their shady bars his shelter, and in a twisted way, those things brought him more peace than the beautiful stone paved streets of Theed ever could.

It was a cruel thing, to only find comfort on the roads of selfishness and depravity.

Maybe that was why Gatz was here this rainy Coruscanti night: to reminisce about "better times." To let the stress of a months long crusade against Kragan Garr fall to the wayside, if only for a single night. It was the only explanation as to why he'd let himself walk these dark alleys, as he held no interest in returning to crime, organized or otherwise. Or perhaps he simply felt like going for a walk in the rain, and he'd ended up here accidentally. Even Gatz himself wasn't sure.

But when he heard a cry for help, his reasons for being down seedy streets didn't matter. Instinct took the place of inner reflection, and Gatz turned a corner at a breakneck pace, hand resting on his blaster's holster. The sight he was confronted with was odd, to say the least: a Jedi holding his lightsaber, scared witless, pleading for help against a man with a recently amputated arm.

"I'd say you have this covered, kid," Gatz approached anyhow, blaster at the ready, "I don't think this guy is gonna be much trouble now that he's down an arm."

---

Tags: Kostodu Xyston

 

[Kostodu Xyston]

Thank the Force, someone had arrived. He had his blaster out, aimed at the Devaronian who was now cocking his only arm back for another strike.

"I'd say you have this covered, kid," Gatz approached anyhow, blaster at the ready, "I don't think this guy is gonna be much trouble now that he's down an arm."

"You may be right, but I have a bad feeling about this pla-" Kostodu was interrupted by a yell across the small plaza. Three Weequay came running, blaster pistols out. Backup. "Uhh, I think this guy has friends!" The Twi'lek yelled, alarmed.

The Padawan got to his feet, dodging to the left as his main assailant attacked again. The horned man had overextended himself, stumbling into a wall to Kostodu's right. Maybe he'd had something to drink and wasn't thinking clearly. That, or he was part of a street gang that had something against the Jedi.

Kostodu jumped back onto the wall behind him and kicked off of it, flying at the Devaronian's bulging stomach, fist extended. He contemplated about using his lightsaber, but decided that killing this man wasn't the way to go. It was probably all just some misunderstanding...right?

The Padawan's fist slammed into his enemy's stomach with a loud smack that echoed in the alleyway. "Aargh... JEDI!"

The Devaronian, with renewed rage, swung at Kostodu, catching him square in the jaw, sending him flying to the ground. Just before the man could pounce on him, however, the Padawan activated his lightsaber and stabbed it through the man's chest. Regret filled him instantly, but he consoled himself with the fact that, if he hadn't killed his attacker, he himself would be dead right about now. But it still didn't shake off all the guilt.

Kostodu rose to his feet shakily... and immediately raised his emerald lightsaber to block four incoming shots. They ricocheted safely into the ground. "It's a Jedi! Let's get him! He took down Dronz!" yelled the lead Weequay, tying a bloodred bandana around his forehead.

So they were getting serious now. Maybe escaping would be the best idea, but where would he go? Kostodu barely knew these lower parts, much less where he was now. And who knew? Maybe these guys had dozens more in their gang just waiting for an oppurtunity to kill a Jedi.

He glanced to his side, at the human with his blaster. I hope this guy is good...

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

The Devaronian man sure had one hell of a tolerance to pain. The kid's aggressor launched himself forward again, and Gatz wanted to help the Twi'lek, but the thug clearly had friends. The Jedi could handle himself against a one-armed man, and so the former smuggler turned his focus to the others: a Weequay with a stupid bandana and his two lackeys.

With the initial attacker dealt with—via a lightsaber through the abdomen that was going to cause questions with the authorities later—the young Jedi bounced back up and deflected a few shots harmlessly into the ground. Good, so the kid did have restraint. That would make the rest of this situation much less messy to deal with, once they had to start answering questions.

Gatz could already hear the disapproval that would be in Valery Noble 's tone if he let anyone else—thug or otherwise—be killed here. So Gatz set his blaster pistol to stun.

"You were defending yourself kid, but let's not take anymore lives!"

A shot was fired in Gatz's direction, but the Force had given him enough forewarning to sidestep it. He fired back, hitting the lead Weequay in the chest with a stunner. The stupid bandana man fell back to the ground, and Gatz turned his blaster to the second Weequay, and was rewarded with a similar result.

He had to duck down behind a dumpster to avoid being shot by the third thug, and he heard the round dissipate against the other side of the metal trash bin. Ideally, they would just drop this guy and run, but how would that look? Jedi or not, the two of them would be running away from the site of a killing now. And if he'd still just been a smuggler, he'd have been fine with that.

He was supposed to be more upstanding these days.

Dammit, there was nothing to do but fight until the Coruscant Guard turned up.

---

Tags: Kostodu Xyston

 

[Kostodu Xyston]

With the guilt of taking the Devaronian's life still weighing heavy on his mind, Kostodu watched his ally stun two of them, and take cover behind a dumpster. Right, no more death.

The Padawan rushed forward, zig-zagging to avoid his attacker's shots, and extended a hand. The Weequay screamed in terror and went flying back, smashing into a wooden table. He tried to get up, but Kostodu Force-pulled his pistol into his hand, switched it to stun, and shot him. The outlaw slumped down, into the pile of wooden planks.

The Twi'lek let out a sigh, and looked over to the dumpster. "I got him. Nice shooting by the way," he said.

Now...what would he do? The Devaronian's body lay lifeless on the ground, a still-smoking hole burned through his belly. Jedi aren't supposed to kill. All life is sacred.

You did well killing him. He deserved it, and you were just protecting yourself. Everyone will understand.

Shut up!

The voice in his head had been talking more over the past few weeks, challenging the Jedi ideology of serenity, and it said that taking life was necessary for new life to enter the world. Kostodu shook his head, his lekku quivering too.

"Uh, we should probably get out of here," the Padawan said, walking over to the dumpster while surveying the mess.

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

Gatz heard the thump of a body hitting the floor, and the Jedi told him seconds later that the threat was taken care of. So, with a groan, Gatz stood from his position behind the dumpster. He stretched his legs a little, all while he eyed the havoc they'd caused. All in all, they'd wrapped things up nicely, and almost entirely without bloodshed. The Devaronian was still dead of course, but the young twi'lek hadn't had much choice there.

"Not bad, kid," Gatz nodded, "you're clearly not a half bad shot yourself."

But he could tell the man was shaken, by the way his lekku seemed to tremble. Between that, and his apparent age, Gatz guessed this was a Padawan, not a Knight. Was that Devaronian the first life he'd taken? He could empathize. Gatz would always remember the first time he'd taken a life. It had taken him months before he stopped waking up in a cold sweat.

"We can't run," Gatz spoke calmly, as he shook his head, "we'd be running away from the scene of a crime. We need to wait for the authorities to arrive, so that we can tell them what happened here. You were attacked, and you were forced to defend yourself. They'll have questions, but things should be just fine."

Padawan he might be, but this man was still a Jedi. That was a point in favor of his credibility. Now if it had been Gatz who was attacked then this situation might have been a little more dicey. He had a record, after all.

"What's your name, Padawan?"

---

Tags: Kostodu Xyston

 

[Kostodu Xyston]

Kostodu ran through several Jedi calming techniques he'd learned at the Temple. They didn't work. He was using every ounce of willpower he had not to look over at the Devaronian's corpse.

"We can't run," Gatz spoke calmly, as he shook his head, "we'd be running away from the scene of a crime. We need to wait for the authorities to arrive, so that we can tell them what happened here. You were attacked, and you were forced to defend yourself. They'll have questions, but things should be just fine."

The Padawan nodded in understanding.

His ally's calming tone helped Kostodu in ways that breathing techniques couldn't. To see someone in the same situation as him and not panicking was nice. But then again, the man wasn't in the same situation. He was the one who had stunned the attackers. Kostodu was the one who had driven a lightsaber into one of their stomachs. He was the Jedi who had a strict moral code. Who'd been known at the Temple for never hurting a fly. What would they say now?

Sirens filled his mind, accompanied by red and blue flashing lights. Was it really happening now? Or was it just his imagination, watching a green Twi'lek get taken to maximum-security prison, his lightsaber revoked...exiled by the Jedi Order...

No, that was a possible future. And the future was always changing. But...were those sirens he was hearing now?

"Hey...do you hear sirens? Oh, also the name's Kostodu Xyston. And you?" he asked.

Gatz Derrevar

 

[Gatz Derrevar]

​

He could feel Kostodu on the verge of panic. Gatz didn't blame the young Padawan. This was likely his first real encounter with battle, with death, and with taking a life himself. He remembered being similarly shaken, once, after he'd taken his first life back on Nar Shaddaa. He was surprised the Twi'lek hadn't gotten sick yet; Gatz had emptied his stomach after his first kill.

"Hey," Gatz placed a hand on the kid's shoulder, "I know how you feel right now. I've been there too. But you did nothing wrong: that man would have killed you, and taking his life was the only way to preserve your own. What you did was self-defense, not murder. And when you had the choice to be non-lethal, you took it."

He did hear the sirens in the distance, actually. The Coruscant Guard on their way, to see what the commotion had been about. Gatz wasn't going to pretend that the next few hours were going to be fun: they weren't. The two of them would likely end up sitting in an interrogation room, until the officers got all the information they needed.

But Kostodu being a Jedi would give him some credibility, and the fact that the other very obvious gangsters were still alive would make it look like they'd at least tried to end things without violence.

"I know you're scared, but when the police get here, you need to try and be as calm as possible. They're going to have a lot of questions for us. You just need to answer them honestly, and they'll see that you were just defending yourself."

---

Tags: Kostodu Xyston

 

[Kostodu Xyston]

Kostodu nodded to himself, feeling comforted by the human's presence. He took deep calming breaths and closed his eyes. The police would understand. They probably saw this exact scenario quite a few times in their work week, as Coruscant's lower levels were ripe with all sorts of crimes.

When he could see red and blue lights flashing through his eyelids, he blinked a few times and watched two officers exit their speeder, glancing at the Devaronian's body solemnly. Kostodu wondered how many corpses the officers had seen over their lifetimes. Dozens, maybe hundreds. That lifestyle was only for the brave.

"Excuse me fellas, could you please raise your hands in the air? We're gonna pat you down and take off your weapons. To start off, what are your names?" asked one of the officers. The woman took off her sunglasses and pocketed them on her vest. Kostodu's eyes widened. He would've expected to see steely and unforgiving eyes, a hardened face, but her gaze was sympathetic and slightly sad. Could she have known somehow that this was all an accident just by looking at the young Twi'lek?

Obviously this police officer had more skills than just detaining people.

"My name is Kostodu, Jedi Padawan," he said. He barely stopped himself from launching into an explanation of the scene, deciding that it would be better if he told the woman and her partner when they asked. OR leave that part to his human ally. He seeemed to have...experience in this type of situation.

Gatz Derrevar