A cantina, some ale and a nasty sandstorm

[Blessèd Sith]

Nalaen smiled up at Lalasko and tapped her lowerlip with her finger a few times.

 

"Yes, I suppose so. Why? Something important you need to . . . do?" Cracking a grin, she turned her attention briefly to the dark one by her, always aware of her surroundings and the fickle moods of living creatures, then back to Lalasko. Why, hadn't she become the popular little Sith girl? This was definately odd. Well, it was no big deal. She may be anti-social, but it wasn't exactly like she was dealing with goodie-goodies here. Lalasko, she knew quite well. Perhaps a bit too well for some sensibilities. And the dark one was like her in some ways, and didn't make her ill to be around.

 

Had her Master sensed these events? Had he known she would be stuck on the hell hole? Ah well. At least she could get some information and go more directly to her mark, rather than wandering around for months to try and find his little dump.

[Darth Stryke]

*Jerod Stryke smiled one last time and then spoke. Part of what he said was a lie and partly the truth, in either case, he hid it well so that the Sith was unable to notice.

 

"Well, as for the girl you are thinking about, she is the target I was sent for so do not make assumptions so quickly. As for your target, I am only aware of a few people who seem like that type in here today. Most of the people here are locals just seeking shelter from a storm. One of those people is the watchman at the door, by what I have heard he is new. Another is the man in the Mandalorian armor. The third is someone I just met a few moments ago ironically enough. Hope that helps. Try not to make a mess before I leave."

 

He then smiled and bowed before Nalaen and Lalasko and returned to his table, resuming his conversation from before. He spoke quietly and casually as to not give away what he was saying.

 

"Well, unless she is a really good liar, she is not after you, Nadira. Quietstorm, however, may be a different story. All she knows is that her target is male, out on his own, and did something to severely annoy the Sith. You have not done anything to anger the Sith have you? I came all this way to avoid killing anyone today, I would have to get into a mess now."

[Writer]

"That description reminds me of Adar," Nadira said quietly. "He was involved with the Sith for a short time." She looked around. "But he is not..." she stopped as another person entered the cantina. Falling suddenly silent, Nadira seemed to shrink into her black cloak.

 

"He is here," she whispered. There was a trace of fear in her voice. She knew he could be there for only one reason. He knew of Stryke's failure and had come to kill them both.

 

"Excuse me," Adar said, approaching the bar. "I'm looking for a woman. She looks like this."

 

"Our patrons are safe from the prying eyes of people such as you," the bartender spat. "Take your troubles elsewhere."

 

Adar glared at him and took a seat near Nalaen. He ignored everybody in the room, closing his eyes and seeming to search for someone through the Force.

[Darth Stryke]

*Stryke did not like what he saw. Adar was here and there was no way out without him knowing. He felt anger rising in him again.

 

"Well, I guess this is it."

 

Stryke quietly took his saber from his belt and held it in-hand.

 

"He is going to pay for the pain he has caused to me and all of the people who have died because of him."...

[Writer]

Adar's quick eyes caught Stryke's movement and he turned. With a grin, he recognized the man he'd hired to kill Nadira. He wondered if Nadira was nearby as well. He glanced over the others at the table and his eyes came to rest on the formless black shape seated across from Stryke.

 

"Hello, Nadira," he whispered to himself. "You're hiding with your failure of a killer and... who's he?" Adar had begun to stand, but he abruptly sat down again, for the first time catching sight of Quietstorm.

 

"I don't know who you are," he whispered to himself. "Are you dangerous? Yes, of course you are. Does Nadira think she can find protection from me? I have betrayed the Sith in my past. I know how they work. I know how the Jedi work. I've betrayed them as well."

 

"Hello, Nadira," he whispered again, turning his attention once more to the formless shape he knew was his target. "Do you think you are safe? I betrayed you once. Do not think your friends know you better than I do. They cannot protect you from me."

 

With this said, he leaned back in his chair and glanced at Nalaen. He grinned again and looked away.

 

"Hello, Sith," he whispered. "Hello, oh my silent enemy who wishes to kill me. How many places have your masters sent you? And now you find me here, stalking my own prey. Do you think you will defeat me? I betrayed your kind once. They cannot be happy. I know their ways. I know your ways."

 

He ordered a drink and watched the two tables intensely.

 

 

((And, yes, Adar is talking to himself... sort of a strange character, isn't he? ))

[90SK]

Lalasko smiled the man off, then turned back to his host, the smile evaporating. He was himself again, and it was time to focus on the task at hand.

 

"Now, you asked me for information about the politics I've learned in here." He blinked. "The law is not enforced here. The hutts control Tatooine. This you know." He leaned in, so as to keep the other patrons from hearing. "You may also know that the Exchange uses this place as a trade cashe. A checkpoint."

He chuckled, but there was no humor in his laugh. "I learned that dirty little secret the hard way," he said, adjusting his patch. "Pirates often cash in here, trading off looted goods for weapons and credits. Its possible that your mark attacked a Sith craft, and "your master" is out to settle a score."

He shifted his head.

"If Sith do such things, that is."

 

Lalasko's eye roved to the source of a quiet sound. A man was talking to himself, under his breath. Barely a whisper. But it was there, a current of threats and plans. Lalasko smirked.

[Darth Stryke]

"He knows I am here", Stryke said under his breath.

"And he knows you are here as well. Things could get messy here, especially with that Sith woman. She is not going to be happy when I kill Adar."

 

He then wondered if that was what Nadira wanted. Perhaps she did not want him dead, merely captive. Perhaps she wanted to kill him herself. He hope this was not the case, he wanted vengeance.

 

"You do want me to kill him, right?"

[Writer]

"Not yet," Nadira said quietly. "Let him make his move first. If he doesn't make one, we'll leave and make sure he can't follow us to Oren's ship."

[Blessèd Sith]

(((Geez, I'm off the computer for like, 4 hours and damn things progressed O_O)))

 

Nalaen smiled up at Lalasko and patted his cheek with her open palm.

 

"Ah, but my quarry is here and thinks he can best me. I love a smug mark. The expression in their eyes as they're cut down, the horror sparkling in their eye as that twinkle of control fades away. When they realise they're truly the prey, and have been their whole lives. That they've lived a lie: they created a false control over others in hopes that they can establish it as real. But they know that it's always been a house of cards, that no matter how many loose ends they tie up, just more will unravel." She smiled again, not caring how her prey thought. It was an odd move for her, but there were three other people who wanted him gone -- that she could sense.

 

Well, it looked like she may have to get into business with the others here. After all, her Master wanted this man dead: he didn't specify how or with whom.

 

Turning, she looked right at Adar and studied him. He said he knew the way the Sith worked. He knew who she was so she didn't care about him noticing her scrutiny. But he made one fundamental mistake. He knew the Sith ways. He did not know hers. And to kill this man whom she already intensely loathed, she would kill anyone to get to him. It did not matter whom he used as a human shield, who he threw in her way, how far he ran, she would hunt him down like some wild animal. The wild animals she grew up tracking. She could stalk an animal for weeks. And it made the killing and feeding of the blood to her ancestors just that much sweeter.

[90SK]

Nalaen's attention had been drawn to the man Lalasko had breifly studied.

 

He turned to Nalaen;

"That is all the info I can provide, I'm afraid. Good luck with your...project." He nodded his head. "I'll leave you alone now."

After taking a few steps, he turned breifly. "Nice to see you again," he said with the hint of a smirk.

 

As he returned to his small table in the shadows of the cantina, he grinned, a wide, evil grin. But only for a second. It vanished as soon as it came, and Lalasko sat, watching the strange man that Nalaen now observed. His eye widened as he saw who the man was. "No" he whispered, in disbelief. Things had just grown more complex.

[Writer]

((I'm growing more and more amused at how well known Adar is:) ))

 

 

Adar watched in silence. He began to wonder who he should kill first. Nadira? Stryke? The Sith woman? There were too many possibilities. He didn't like it. If he attacked one, all the others might attack him. That would not do. No, he'd have to wait, wait until they were more separated.

[Blessèd Sith]

She found Adar's thoughts ever so amusing. Propping her arms on the back of her chair, she rested her chin on them, staring at him. He was an amusing subject. So often did she kill people who were strictly full of fear from her. Although that was a compliment that she could strike fear into their hearts just by standing a few feet away, this was more interesting. He was actually trying to assess the situation and create a strategy from it. Fascinating. Of course, he didn't realise that he had absolutely no hope, no matter how smart or powerful he considered himself.

 

You just don't screw the Sith. It should be in the fineprint, really. For if she didn't kill him, someone else would. He was doomed. And the Sith loved holding a grudge. Look how long they've hated the Jedi for. He could run for centuries and he'd still be at the top of the Sith to-do list. If he wanted to run, fine. She would track him. And if worse came to worse, she would enlist help of others. Perhaps not even other Sith: the others in this cantina who wanted him dead. It would be prudent to work with them. They all wanted the same goal. No point in arguing and fighting amongst each other while the real prey escaped.

 

Glancing at the others for a split second, fast enough for only a Force-user or Force-adept to notice, she hoped that one of the three had caught her flickering look. They needed to come up with something without Adar noticing. They could circle him, leaving no room for escape. And the others here would probably be curious as to what was going on, so they'd bunch up and finish the wall of bodies, all around. Of course, that was one option of many.

 

So she returned to studying him, wondering what exactly she would do.

[90SK]

Lalasko grimly analysed the situation. He forsaw several possible courses of action. 1: Throw a stun grenade into the lot of them, then grad Adar and brave the storm (this was the least likely to happed, and the most risky). 2: Let the others attack, then once they leave try to heal Adar enough to get him to a life support system (possible, but unlikely. Sith brutality is a very fatal thing). 3: Let Adar die. Deal with the consequences on a later date (Lalasko was leaning towards this option, though he didn't like what it meant).

 

Lalasko's comm unit vibrated against his belt. He lowered the volume, then accepted the transmission.

 

"Speak." He whispered into the comm.

 

"There's been a change."

 

"Oh?"

 

"The third benifactor is out of the loop."

 

Lalasko's eyes widened. Could this be some luck at last?

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"Yes. Make the adjustments."

 

The transmission ended. Lalasko sat back, resigned. "Chackmate, Adar. You had me worried for a moment," he whispered.

[Darth Stryke]

*Jerod Stryke watched Adar. He wondered why Adar was here so soon. As far as Adar knew, he was waiting for the right time to kill Nadira. It then dawned on him; Adar was going to kill him either way. Adar probably had planned for Stryke to be here and kill Nadira and then he would kill Stryke as well as the Sith who he probably knew was hunting him. And if Stryke did not kill Nadira, he would simply kill her as well. Which also meant another thing. Adar was not stupid, attacking a former Jedi, a Sith, and his best assassin-he would have help.

 

"He is not alone-he had to have someone on the inside to tell him when the whole setup was ready and to help him when he strikes. How else would he know that we were all here at the same time? And he probably knew the Sith wanted him dead, he would not be here without backup. Someone who was already here before Adar arrived was looking for us and will attack when the time is right."

 

And Stryke had a feeling he knew who that someone was...

[Blessèd Sith]

Even before the dark one had thought of anything, she already knew who the inside man was. And she was mad. It made her smile and almost laugh. Oh, that silly, silly Lalasko. Did he think it was smart betraying her? For betrayal was what made her most angry. And anger fueled the dark side. So, they thought that they were set up neatly. For now, she would play along, thinking that they had them in checkmate. But this little pawn was really a queen in disguise and could move wherever the hell she wanted.

 

But if this was a set up, what was it for? So many of Adar's enemies were in place . . . How could he hope to take them on in a crowded -- her thoughts stopped short. Backup. Oh hells. He had backup. But against an assassin touched with the Force, a Jedi (she was sure), a Mandalorian and a Sith Assassin? His backups were in for a rough, ROUGH ride.

 

Still, this was one of those missions where she sorely wished her Master had come along. But he had stopped doing that as she was a "big girl now", he had once said snidely. Oh Gods oh Gods oh Gods. Was this that fear that she had been taught about? She had never felt it like this before. Usually she basked in the fear of others . . . But fear was her ally.

 

Her eyes darted once more to the small group of now-allies. Whether they wanted to or not, they were in this together. And no matter what tortures or information they wanted from Adar, it would be a foolish idea to try. With enemies like this, it was best to kill them fast and thoroughly.

 

Now it was time to pick out his helpers. Once she had figured the whole play out, she was able to sense them much easier. Their pulses had increased by half a heartbeat or so, their temperatures rising by a few degrees. The ones who were excited and suppressing their anticipation: those were the ones who she had to watch out for. A normal warrior is always excited by the kill, so they would be tough pressed to keep themselves completely calm. Perhaps to a normal viewer they would seem to be normal patrons of this cantina . . . but she wasn't normal. She was Sith.

 

This really had been a test from her Master . . . she knew he knew all along what was going to happen. From the others here, to Lalasko, to the sandstorm . . . Amazing how the Force worked . . .

[Darth Stryke]

*Jerod Stryke pondered for a moment. He wondered just how many of the people in that cantina were there to help Adar. He was quite resourceful and while he was quite a skilled fighter, he prefered to let others kill for him. Who else could it be? The man in the Mandalorian armor perhaps? He did not think Quietstorm was involved and sensed no deception from him, yet his being here also seemed rather convinient. The one-eyed man seemed to react as if he expected Adar to be there as well. Could Nadira have made a deal with Adar for her life to be spared? His only sure ally seemed to be a Sith, not exactly the ideal situation. He wanted answers-he was not used to waiting for his enemies to make their move. Stryke stood quickly as his chair fell over, his lightsaber hilt in-hand. He spoke with a raised voice, ignoring the others in the cantina staring at him.

 

"So Nadira, you do not seemed to be bothered by Adar's sudden appearance. Why do you want to wait for him to strike? You did not seem to be surprised to see me here and you came up to me rather openly, knowing who I was. Were you expecting me? Did you work out a deal with Adar to save your own skin? And your friend Quietstorm, perhaps a hired killer? Perhaps I should have remained with the Sith at her table, it seems she would be a better ally..."

 

*With that, he looked deep into Nadira's eyes, seeking the truth.

[90SK]

((This is getting interesting ))

 

Lalasko was lost in his own thoughts. With the third benefactor out of the loop, Adar needed to live. But only long enough to validate the transaction: the final step of the deal. Adar was outnumbered, and he knew it. Why was he so confident? Did he expect Lalasko to bail him out? He wasn’t that stupid. He had gotten Adar this far, and it had been bloody hard. But he was not interested in giving his life to the cause. And even if he was, the Exchange wouldn’t let him go. Did he have more men outside, in the storm? It didn’t matter. He had to get the signature. Now.

 

Lalasko stood, sighing. He made his way along the dark edge of the cantina wall, until he was parallel to Adar. Clamly walking up to him, he sat, trying to ignore the silence that Stryke’s outburst had ushered in.

 

“The third benefactor is out, Adar. Timetables have been accelerated. I need the signature from you. He placed the datapad on the table. “Or the deal dies with you, in this cantina.”

[Writer]

Adar gave a low hiss of annoyance.

 

"Out as in dead?" he demanded quietly. Then, without another word, he signed the datapad. Standing quietly, he got up and moved for the door. Lalasko's timing had thrown him off and it was time to leave.

[Blessèd Sith]

Once Adar moved, Nalaen's leg twitched. When she sensed his intentions, she slid out of her chair. She felt like a shadow, drifting through everyone, until she reached the door. It seemed such a short time to traverse the area that she wondered momentarily if she had used the Force to speed her movements out of instinct. Interesting development.

 

She wasn't going to let Adar leave. Her sabre was in her hand; how, she didn't know: like her movements, it just happened. Body and mind were on automatic. Her prey thought it had found an emergency escape in the trap. But hopefully, it was only the last desperate hopes of a dead man.

 

The crimson blades extended on either side of her as Adar approached. He was not leaving this place outside of a bodybag.

[90SK]

Lalasko ducked. He tried to make it subtile, but utimately failed at this. Fighting in the inevitable battle that was about to transpire would only indanger the survival of Adar's signature, and Lalasko knew he had to get out one way or another. He clutched the datapad in one arm, and readied his quarterstaff in the other. Hopefully, he would not need it...

[Darth Stryke]

*Stryke watched the events unfold. He was still not sure of whom to trust. The time to act, however, was now.

 

"Well, I guess I am about to learn the truth."

 

*He then activated his lightsaber and the bright yellow blade extended as he moved toward Adar...

[Final Warrior]

OOC: BLARGH! School caught up with me... Anyone mind filling me in on what happened, and/or introduce me?

[Darth Stryke]

((OOC: Our current story involving Adar is at its climax right now. Might as well just read it from the last point you posted since a lot has happened.))

[Blessèd Sith]

Now was the time to strike. Finally this chase would be coming to an end. Quite an interesting little game she had taken part in; her Master had to have had some hand in this. But that was for reflection later, when the job was done. Her eyes met Adar's. She was staring into the soul of a dead man.

 

A flicker of the Force gripped her guts and wrenched them ever so slightly. So, the one who betrayed, Lalasko, was on the move. What he was going to do, she didn't know. She cared, but merely for the fact that he could be dangerous. Though she could go after him, that would mean Adar went free. And even if her emotions told her to slaughter him, she had a job to do. Adar was her first priority: until he was dead, she saw and felt nothing else.

 

The dark one got up. Without moving her eyes, she expanded her view to watch him. A yellow sabre flickered then hummed to life. So, he could use the weapon of a Jedi. Usually that would leave a bad taste in her mouth, but this wasn't a normal day. She would be glad for the help, no matter who was offering it. Adar was one slippery corpse indeed. She hoped that she was able to convey approval to the dark one, and the desire to join in battle with him. Her Master would ask, she knew, if she killed her quarry, and she would answer honestly, that she had help. If she ever got to explain herself would be another question.

 

But it did not matter. Adar was going to die, one way or another. That's what she had been sent out here to do, and that's what she would see done. If she had the whole cantina gang up on him, then fine. As long as he was dead.

[Writer]

Nadira stood slowly and approached Adar, drawing her blue lightsaber as well.

 

"He is to be mine," she said quietly. "He has taken my throne, my life, my family."

 

She turned to Adar and said, "This didn't turn out quite like you planned, did it?"

 

"Lachlan will take over in my place," Adar said, his chin held high. "You will never return to rule your planet."

 

"You should not have said that," Nadira scolded softly. "In hearing Lachlan's name, my new companions will have yet another man to chase once you are gone."

 

"He will kill you all!" Adar screamed. Nadira glanced at Nalaen.

 

"Toss him away from the door and stand between him and it," she said. "This fight is to be between Adar and me. The rest of you, find any other ways he might escape and guard them."

 

Adar put his hands up to his shoulders as if in defense. He didn't exactly like the idea of getting tossed around by a Sith, let alone a female Sith.