Trench Town Fiasco

[Greyanna Elvanshalee]

Lithios
Ethos City Slums
Undisclosed Back Alley

Melanah Neros

She wasn't a religious person. Didn't believe in some omnipotent being or mystical energy controlling her destiny, or she hadn't until a few seconds ago. Til this point all the cards had been stacked in her favor. Everything had been set in stone and in a blink it all changed.

She couldn't help but wonder at what forces outside her control had conspired against her. In real time it was all a blur, but in Melanah's mind time had crawled to nead a halt. Try as she might, there was no stopping a twist of fate. The world around her faded out. The smell of rain drenched duracrete, the neon of street signs, the sound of the crowd, all had disappeared from her senses. There was only sight and touch.

Manarah could feel the weight of the woman mounted on top of her, immovable no matter how hard she tried. The tips of that womans fingers dug into the flesh of her own cheeks and jaw and held her head firm against the ground below. One of Manarah's arms had been trapped between her body and her assailant's thigh but her other shoved violently at the chest.

It was little use. Be it destiny or betrayal, Manarah's fate was sealed. In those last seconds of conscience her last sight was the tattoo'd face on her opponents forearm and the hammer like fist that sent her to blackness. Her final thought on what had suddenly changed.


15 Minutes Ago...

Greyanna Elvanshalee

It was another Taungsday in Ethos. Better known in this particular part as fight night, or atleast she thought. This was Grey's fourth and each one she had been spent supplementing her credit fund by getting bruised up in this alley. It wasn't a bad way to earn. She was good at it, but it took a toll on the hands and she needed those for the big pay offs. Keyboards didn't type themselves.

This fight was the last for a while and luckily it was an easy one. Dance around for a round or two and take a dive, that was the deal. Everyone went home richer. That was if no one found out of course. She had been assured they wouldn't so long as she made it believable.

"Hold this." Grey stood in what she assumed was her corner of this makeshift arena. There was a stool and there was Four Toes Duggins. The infochant that had gotten her into this mess. More lackey than infochant, Four Toes was beholden to the crime boss who ran these things. Tonight he was her corner man slash baby sitter.

He took the backpack she handed him and slid it onto his shoulders saying nothing. His eyes where on the crowd that made the outline of the ring. There where the usuals and but it was the high rollers he spotted that caused a smile.

"You do good and Mr. Finnick is gonna be real pleased."

Grey stood straight from having just removed her shoes and put them in Duggins waiting hands. "I don't care if it makes him have kittens by the litter. I better get paid."

"You'll get pai...why do you do that. The rules say no shoes and no gloves?"

Already in mid-motion, Grey had unfastened and wriggled halfway out of her pants bearing the black compression shorts she wore underneath. Looking up, Grey pulled her pants off completely, "I don't want to give her something to grab, besides I did it in the other fights. Believable remember."

Pants where deposited with the rest and her shirt followed. Four Toes had gone quiet, his eyes paying close inspection to the massive tattoo on her right side. She was something of an ink addict. The conversation seemed over and after a moment to tie her hair up it was time play loser.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

_______________________________________________________________________​

LITHIOS, ETHOS CITY, THE MEISSA SYSTEM​

ETHOS CITY SLUMS​

_______________________________________________________________________​

"I hear the train a comin'
It's rollin' 'round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine
Since, I don't know when"​

w. [member="Greyanna Elvanshalee"]​

Nothing like an evening in forsaken territory.

Junkies pleading for some chump change by the sidewalk, itching to get fast cash to ease their fix on BTLs, vendors trying to sell you their fake wares by offering you exorbitant prices and the always lurking mugger around the corner were just a handful of characters one could encounter in the slums. One would venture here if you had a solid death wish or simply had some business to take care of with people of certain circles.

Ar'ekk was no stranger to the last point or the first, dying was a natural part of life and he didn't seem to care at all anymore. Night fights had caught his attention for months now after visiting some underground rings, lots of fighters willing to die for some lousy credit chips on their pockets after getting beat up to a pulp.

People loved to come and see others get hurt and come out with broken bones and sometimes no eyes, an Ethos City special as it was commonly called, given that fresh eyes were highly sought in the black market.

From the corner of the ring, he'd be watching the duel between Four Toes Duggins and a girl that looked as strong as a Krayt Dragon unfold in its entirety. A cigarette found its way to his lips, smoking like no tomorrow and releasing the smoke through his nostrils. A grin formed on his face as the crowd went nuts over them, cheering loudly and throwing beer cups in an upwards motion to celebrate the fighters' arrival and preparation.

As much as Greyanna, Ar'ekk had his share of ink on his body. It was a way of telling the world your story without words, sometimes that's all you needed, and because of that he bet a hefty sum on her name with the hope of getting recognized in return.

That's how things worked here, at least he thought.

 

[Greyanna Elvanshalee]

Perhaps it was intuition, maybe some form of neurosis or just plain fortuity, but Arekk got his recognition. She caught him in the corner of her eye, a silhouette that somehow blended with the crowds asthetic yet still stood on it's own. The smoke, the smile...it was alluring in a way and compelled Grey to look straight at him. A momentary glance before she turned to her opponent.

Melanah Neros, a cop from the merchant district. The woman was in deep with their mutual friend Mr. Finnick as far as Grey knew. She was a local favorite at these things or atleast had been until the otherworlder showed up. Greyanna was bigger, faster, and had brought a skillset to Lithios these people had never seen. Tonight she was the favorite and the hometown girl was expected to need an extended leave from her policing duties.

Mr. Finnick felt the same way and his opinion hadn't went too well with Melanah at their initial meeting to set this up. Grey only hoped she played nice.

The crowd was in hysterics once the two met centerstage before being hushed at the beckoning of the referee/announcer. The rules where layed out. Unlimited 3 minute rounds. The fight stopped once a fighter was no longer able to continue.

3 Rounds In...

It was harder than she thought. Not the fighting, but pulling the blows. Resisting the urges to capitalise. It had already went on longer than planned. While Grey was trying to stick to script, Melanah was attempting to make a show of it, to make an ass of Grey. Frustration built with each passing moment.

5 Rounds In...

Countless times already Grey had left an opening for Melanah to take her shot. To end it so they could collect. She kept refusing, prolonging to dish out unwarranted punishment. Greyanna was on the verge of just going down on some bogus body shot when her friend made the mistake.

In a clinch, Melanah whispered in Grey's ear, "Frak you, offworld harpy bish."


When it came to emotion, Greyanna could display a wide spectrum and level of most all of them save one. Anger. Her anger knob was always turned to eleven. Be it spilt milk or being called a harpy bish, once the switch was flipped on everything in her path was susceptible to being consumed like lava. Only when it was switched off did the full scope of the damage done settle with her.


Switch On....switch off.

Melanah layed beneath her, face broken and bloody, but Grey could feel the cops breathes between her legs. She was alive. That was good, but when Grey looked to where Duggins was suppose be...

Just her clothes. That was bad. He had her backpack and was no doubt in route to the crime boss she had just caused a huge loss of credits for.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

_______________________________________________________________________​

LITHIOS, ETHOS CITY, THE MEISSA SYSTEM​

ETHOS CITY SLUMS, THE ARENA​

_______________________________________________________________________​

"I hear the train a comin'
It's rollin' 'round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine
Since, I don't know when"​

w. [member="Greyanna Elvanshalee"]​

Bloody fight worthy of a night in the slums.

People weren't kidding when they spoke outloud about Greyanna's proficiency on the ring, her overall technique to defeat any type of opponent was worthy of praising. She had made Ar'ekk an even richer man that night after beating Melanah, a known cop of the ECPD who was entangled in less than amicable circles. That wasn't a surprise for those who frequented these type of places, everyone on Lithios had a price tag.

Yes, even cops.

Juggling cigarette packs until he was left with none, the man continue to watch the fight with complete attention until it was all over. Cheers and screams of patrons around him, trying to reach the ring too and bawl their lungs out in anger due to either losing a lot of money or because Melanah wasn't as strong as they thought. A grin beamed on his face under the flickery light on the ceiling, eyes lingering on Greyanna long enough for her to notice him again.

Panic surfaced as she laid eyes on something that wasn't there anymore, his gaze following hers and immediately realizing what had gone wrong. It was too late to do a thing, her belongings were already long gone into the guts of Ethos City. Ar'ekk approached the ring like he owned the place and motioned Greyanna over, eventually speaking:

"Don't make a fuss out of it here. Let's talk outside."

Stay calm, keep up appearances for now and scream your lungs out later. Time to think of a plan with a stranger, what could go wrong?

 

[Greyanna Elvanshalee]

The adrenaline rush from the fight had hardly had time to wear off before her trepidation kicked it back into high gear. It was a good thing, Grey knew from experience her body would be in a world of hurt once she calmed down and at the moment the girl couldn't afford to be slowed down. She had screwed the pooch. There would be repercussions.

The repercussions she could handle. Grey had be dealing with the fallout of her temper the entirety of her life. She had dealt with the Mr. Finnics of the galaxy all through out known space. He wasn't her worry. Her bag being taken, that was a whole other story altogether. A livelihood was in that bag.

There was no shortage of haste in the speed she had thrown her clothes back on, the chaos of the crowd behind her long forgotten. She was about make her exit when Arekk approached.

"Don't make a fuss out of it here. Let's talk outside."

Don't make a fuss...seriously. Grey didn't say it, she didn't have to. Her expression was enough. It also said she wasn't in the mood to talk, but luckily common sense broke through.

Alone, on an unfamiliar planet, and possibly being target by a mob boss. This guy sounded like he knew something and she needed a friend.

"Did you see where he went? Can you take me to him?" The questions started before they got outside, descretion not being high on her priority list.

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

_______________________________________________________________________​

LITHIOS, ETHOS CITY, THE MEISSA SYSTEM​

ETHOS CITY SLUMS, THE ARENA​

_______________________________________________________________________​

"I hear the train a comin'
It's rollin' 'round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine
Since, I don't know when"​

w. [member="Greyanna Elvanshalee"]​

"He won't go far. I've got a drone tracking his position as we speak, let's go."

You had to be prepared for occasions such as this one, where the expected could hit sooner than you thought. Thankfully Ar'ekk had a plethora of gadgets to their advantage so going out like crazy after this individual would only cost them a few seconds of gathering their breath, so they pretty much could take it easy from now on. He gave Greyanna a couple of seconds to collect her thoughts before departing.

He tucked on his cigarette and blew a thick cloud of smoke upwards to not upset Grey with its toxicity, rubbing his nostrils nervously before talking.

"Little weazel thinks he's a smart one. What do you have in that backpack, anyways?"

Better to trust each other and help than thinking otherwise, Ar'ekk seemed like a person who would lend a hand to someone in desperate times.

"Don't worry, though. We'll get it back."

 

[Greyanna Elvanshalee]

A drone? That seemed an odd and random thing to just have on hand. Grey was thankful that he did, it eased her mind, but drones had very specific purposes. Her experience was that those purposes were put to use by sentients with very specific goals.

As nonchalant as she could, Grey sidestepped to put a little space between her and this new friend. No offense was intended, but a stranger was a stranger and questions before introductions seemed sketchy. Besides, she could blame it on the smoke if the issue was pushed.

"My portable, some datapads, a blaster." A half truth, she left out the illegal BoSS input plug and countless fake ID cards. The portable itself was enough to warrant a search. They were expensive.

Getting it back was of course a concern, but her biggest worry was the cost it might incur. Grey had just caved a cop's face in. Was pretty sure she was indebted to a crime boss and now one of his goons had her bag full of illegal items.

"I appreciate the help, um...what's your name?"

[member="Arekk"]

 

[Arekk]

_______________________________________________________________________​

LITHIOS, ETHOS CITY, THE MEISSA SYSTEM​

ETHOS CITY SLUMS, THE ARENA​

_______________________________________________________________________​

"I hear the train a comin'
It's rollin' 'round the bend,
And I ain't seen the sunshine
Since, I don't know when"​

w. [member="Greyanna Elvanshalee"]​

"Something important must be in those datapads. How about we get them back, huh?"

Yeah, a drone. When you're visiting an unforgiving place such as Trent Town and walking down to a grimey place such as this underground boxing arena you want to take measures that nobody's going to either ambush you, lock you in or if there's some danger coming and you don't have eyes to watch your back. Good countermesure nonetheless and very lucky for Grey that he had such gadget waiting outside.

Ar'ekk appreciated the spacing between the two, knowing that two strangers trying to help each other could raise suspicion one way or the other. Being skeptical was an acceptable term, even if you were in this side of town.

"I'm Ar'ekk, pleasure to meet you. Just so you know, that was one hell of a fight." The man eventually said, trying to lighten up the serious mood in the air. "Also, you're wondering why I'm helping you? I really don't know, call it your friendly favor of the day."