Lanira vs. Kasul Season 1 Episode 1 (Star Wars RP)

The sun beat down upon the market place of Hanna City.  The crowds bustled through the streets as people moved to and fro about their business, trying to stay in the shade.  It had taken several years for Chandrila to recover after the fall of the Empire, but slowly trade had been brought back, and life was beginning to return to normal.  Rumors of troubles had come, and many were on edge, but by in large, the planet was on their way to a state of normalcy.  Most of the people in the market ignored the six strangers in black robes making their way through the market.  The people moved out of their way almost without realizing it.

Kasul's green eyes pierced their way through the crowd.  He had heard rumors that a wealthy merchant had his hands on a holocron and was trying to sell it to the highest bidder.  Kasul thought that such valuable knowledge shouldn't be sold, and he would be the one to get his hands on that knowledge first.  The other five members of his Brotherhood scanned the crowd, looking for New Republic soldiers or local police, but otherwise just made sure to keep up the Force aura that made those in front of them unconsciously move out of the way.


Lanira Ritam could have sworn this fruit cost half as much yesterday.  She grumbled to herself as she slid a few credits toward the merchant and begrudgingly accepted the fruit she had purchased.  She twitched at the sickly smile on the merchant's face.  She had been gypped, and both of them knew it.  Turning around, she swept her gaze over the crowded market place.

It was busier today, since the latest shipments of imports had just arrived.  Those always attracted the masses, and sometimes unsavory characters.  Hanna City was relatively safe, especially now the New Republic was in power, but every world had its rotten eggs…such as the dratted Twi'lek merchant to whose wiles she had just succumbed.  Pocketing the food, she made her way through the streets.  She only had a few more errands before she could head home.  She had a lesson scheduled soon, and it would never do to be late.  Her students counted on her.


Kasul finally saw the house he had been looking for and nodded his head in its direction to those with him.  As he walked he kept his senses tuned to those around him.  Being Force-sensitive was what had kept him and his band of brothers alive.  He was always looking for more recruits, though with Luke Skywalker's academy being opened, more and more Force-sensitive beings had wanted to be Jedi, rather than mercenaries, so the pickings were becoming slimmer.  He stopped just outside the doorway of the house, looking around to make sure there were no security officers in sight.


If there was one place in Hanna City to where Lanira hated to go, it was the section where all the rarest commodities and trinkets were sold.  Alas, it was the only place she could find the perfect strings with which to adorn her many instruments.  The particular shop she had in mind was owned by the most uppity merchant she had ever encountered, and this city was full of uppity merchants.  The man was always so secretive and short with her, allowing her on his property only just long enough for her to purchase goods and leave.  Not that she particularly wished to linger there.  The other patrons were enough of a deterrent.  She saw quite a few of the sleazy customers surrounding the merchant's home where he conducted his business.  Some were regulars, others she did not recognize.  She did not care.  All she wished to do was get in, get the strings, and get out.


It seemed to come on him all of the sudden, there, just out of eyeshot...Kasul could feel another Force-sensitive.  It seemed to be a gift he had, being able to detect the ability within others.

"What is it, Kasul?"  The question came from Kal'Ri'Nizim, a young Blood Carver female, who was overly paranoid and always ready to fight.  "Is there something wrong?"

"No, Kal, nothing is wrong.  Let's get the holocron from this Quarren slamo and get out of here.  It's too civilized."

The others chuckled and unconsciously touched where their weapons were hidden under their robes.  They entered into the Quarren merchant's shop nonchalantly, as if coming there to shop.  Kasul's eyes cast about for the Force user.


She could not quite place her finger on it, but something about this group of darkly clad strangers did not sit right with Lanira.  She had yet to actually enter the shop, but lingered outside, waiting for the group of six to finish with their business and leave.  She knew that this particular merchant often got his hands on dangerous objects, which attracted dangerous people.  It looked like this was one of those days.

After the group disappeared into the shop, she approached and sat against its wall.  She adjusted her pale orange bandanna that covered her dark blue hair that reached her shoulder blades before pulling out her recently purchased fruit.  She had planned on saving it for later that day, but now she had time to kill.  Might as well do it with food.


Once inside the shop, Kasul tossed back his black hood and shook his red curls loose.

"Hey, Calo," he called out in a rough voice.  "I hear you got a special item up for sale."

The Quarren came out from behind a shelf where he had been taking inventory.

"You know my name, but I do not know yours," he said in his native Huttese.

"And you won't, you know the rules."  Kasul walked up to the Quarren, who stood easily head and shoulders above the man, but yet to any outside viewer it seemed as if the merchant was the smaller of the two.  The five Brothers spread out around the shop, hands on hidden weapons.  Calo's tentacles quivered slightly.

"What is it you wish?"  The words came out fast and worried.

"The holocron, squidhead.  I want the holocron.  You haven't sold it yet, have you?"

"No. No, I have it in the back, just one moment."  Calo hurried to the back of his shop and quickly came back out, a small black pyramid in his hand.  His golden eyes squinted slightly as he showed it to Kasul.  "It is right here, back from the days of the old republic, or so my research has shown me.  Very valuable.  1 Million credits and its yours!"

Kasul snorted and twitched his fingers.  One of the Brothers, a Spiner named Barrow nodded slightly and pushed over the shelf he was standing by with a loud crash.  "Give it to me or we'll trash the rest of your shop, Slamo," Kasul said with a cold smile.  "That belongs to a Force user, not some grubby merchant like you."


Lanira jumped at the sudden noise.  She popped the last of the fruit into her mouth and leapt to her feet.  Her small frame was just tall enough to peer into the shop's window right above where she had sat.  Her right hand found its way to the tiny blaster strapped to her belt.  Sure, she was not a huge fan of Calo, but she certainly did not wish ill on him.  He was a wealthy man and those customers looked like they could take him down with no effort and walk off with all his wares.

Her eyes cautiously took in the scene.  Calo stood cowering before a redheaded human male clad in a black robe.  The rest of the group was scattered around the shop, one of them standing by a toppled shelf and its now shattered wares.  Lanira's stomach clenched in anger.  Calo was certainly a sleemo, but he did not deserve this.

Besides, he was the only merchant who sold the right kind of strings.

Lanira closed her eyes and scanned the room, calling upon the Force for aid.  She had become quite proficient in the art, despite having taught herself.  She had never wished to join Luke Skywalker's new Academy, as the Jedi Code did not sit well with her, among other things.  She learned on her own just fine, and now passed her knowledge to others.  Secretly, of course.  If what she had heard about the last Jedi Order was true with this one, her efforts to educate would not be appreciated.

She gritted her teeth in concentration for a moment longer.  As soon as she had mapped out the room, she began to formulate a plan.


"There's more where that came from Calo."

The Quarren's tentacles quivered in fear.

"I can't just simply give it to you, it's too valua--"

Another crash; this time it was Kal's shelf that now lay on the floor.  Kasul raised his hands as if in an apologetic gesture and suddenly two orange lightsaber blades bloomed into action with a hiss, crossing themselves right in front of Calo's neck.

"Come on, Calo, let's not make this any harder than it has to be.  You'd be doing the world a favor by giving us that holocron."  The others laughed in derision as if he had told the world's funniest dirty joke.

Calo's tentacles began to writhe.  He was no longer afraid, he was angry.

"You can't get away with this you filth!  You're nothing but the slime off of a Hutt's back!"  The saliva flew from the Quarren's mouth as he raved, but he dared not move a hand for fear of the blades at his neck.


Lanira gasped when the dual energy blades appeared.  Floating in midair.  That certainly put a wrench in her partially formulated plan.  Force-users turned the tables drastically.  She could only assume it was the redhead.  And who knew?  Maybe all his companions had the same abilities.  Even if they did not, she was greatly outmatched.  She had counted on the ruffians not having those abilities.  Her own sensitivity was still developing.  She was powerful, sure, but had no formal training.  The finesse with which this man controlled those blades was a force against which she had no desire to fight.  And facing all six them would easily leave her dead or seriously wounded.

Perhaps she could distract them.  A few well-placed Force "nudges," so to speak, ought to draw their attention enough so she could find a way to remove Calo from harm's way.  Carefully, she raised a hand and flicked her wrist.  A small cleaning droid obliviously working in a corner flew across the room and crashed into the opposite wall.  She ducked down below the window, waiting anxiously for the thugs' reactions.


The diversion worked.  Kasul turned towards the window, and Calo took advantage of the Gray Jedi's distraction, dropping the black pyramid and running out of the room.

"I know you're out there!" Kasul called out through the window.  "I can sense your ability, and you might as well step up and own up.  I'll go easy on you."


Lanira's heart pounded.  She glanced down the street.  There was still a good amount of people in the area.  If she bolted, she might lose herself in the crowd, away from whoever those people were.  She jumped to her feet, keeping her head below the window.  She could come back for the strings another day.  Lifting her skirts, she took off.


"Kal, Barrow, with me.  The rest of you, take anything of value.  The holocron's a fake anyways."  Kasul leapt through the window in a spray of glass, to the shrieks and yells of people in the crowd.  "Out of my way!" he roared as the lightsabers followed him through the window, powering down and returning to their shoulder holsters.  The Blood Carver and Spiner followed, shedding their cloaks and giving chase.  The Blood Carver drew no interest, but Spiners were a rare sight, and he did not need his Force abilities to force people out of his way, as his spikes were more than sufficient of a deterrent.  Kasul had no such luck, having to use the Force to push people out of his way in order to keep a view on the figure he was chasing.

Come to think of it, I don't even know what I'm chasing, other than a Force presence, he thought ruefully to himself.  But I can't let word of my Brothers reaching the New Academy.


There were not enough curse words in all the languages combined to express the sheer terror Lanira felt as she was pursued through the streets.  She counted her blessings that she was likely more familiar with the area than these strangers.  If she could just get to the next corner, she could duck into the nearest alley and hide among the rubbish bins.

There it was.  Her legs worked furiously. Almost there.  Just a few more steps.


Kasul pushed aside a rather large balding human who cursed quite colorfully at him.  There!  He sighed mentally as he wished that he did not need a visible target for his Force powers, as this chase would have been over already, but he was quite certain the diminutive figure in front of him was his target.  His hand reached forward as he ran, and he called upon the Force to paralyze his victim.  It was not his best skill, but he was still trying to keep a low profile, and Force lightning would have been too visible.  I also don't want to hurt this person, only persuade them to join the Brotherhood.  This one has potential to be quite powerful.


Lanira's body dropped to the ground with a thud.  Did I trip? she wondered, trying in her panic to get up, only to find she could not move.  She heard frantic footsteps of the crowd scurrying away from her, but one set stood out.  These approached slowly and with purpose.  Blood pumped loudly in her ears.  She was helpless.  She tried calling on the Force, but found her abilities blocked as forcefully as her muscles.  She clenched her eyes shut in an attempt to prepare herself for the inevitable.


Wow, it actually worked this time, Kasul thought to himself as he caught up.  I don't know how long it will last though.

"Barrow," he called out as the Spiner caught up.  "Incapacitate this one and take her back to the ship."

The Spiner grunted as he yanked two spines out of his shoulders and proceeded to use them on Lanira's pressure points.  Kasul looked down at his victim's face for the first time.  "Huh. You're a woman. Sorry for troubling you, but I can't let word of my activities reach the Academy."


Lanira could only see black boots as she felt a few pricks near her neck.  She barely heard the words the man spoke to her.  Her body soon went limp instead of stiff.  She felt massive limbs scoop her off the ground.  She could not even attempt to struggle out of their grasp.  A tear formed in her eye.  She had students to teach.  Where else would they learn the ways of the Force aside from that less-than-ideal Academy?  She tried to calm her mind.  Panicking would do nothing to help her.  She needed to take this in stride.  She had no idea how, but she would survive.

As Barrow hoisted her over his shoulder, being careful to avoid stabbing her unnecessarily with his spines, he attempted to pat her comfortingly on her back.  "Sorry little lady.  I hope you understand.  We just can't leave you to tell what you saw."

He started back down the back streets at a jog, jouncing Lanira on his shoulder.  Kal was right behind Barrow, easily loping along with her triple jointed legs occasionally flashing themselves from underneath her black robe.  The back alleys were empty, and the walls of the surrounding buildings cast a slight shade upon the alley, bringing blessed shade.


The words of comfort meant nothing to her.  These people kidnapped her, plain and simple.  She was not about to give them an easy time...if she could work up the courage to even talk back.  One simple move from any of them and she could easily lose her head.  What she needed was to escape.  Somehow.


Barrow kept up small chatter as he tromped along, in some small way trying to reduce how awkward he felt with the situation.  "Sometimes the boss asks us to do these things.  He's not a bad man.  In fact, if it weren't for him, I'd've met the same fate as the rest of my kind.  Oh, here we are, the hangar bay."

The Spiner stopped talking as he set about unlocking the door and entering the ship.  He gently put Lanira down on a small bed in a darkened room that clearly belonged to a freighter.  "Here, you can stay here.  The paralysis should only last another few minutes, then you'll be able to move around."


Lanira watched out of the corner of her eye as the Spiner left the room, shutting the door behind him.  She could hear the sound of a lock falling into place.  She stared at the ceiling above her, slowly feeling a tingling sensation grow all over her body as she regained control of her limbs.

After a few minutes, she was able to gather the strength to sit up.  She pat down her body, sighing in relief when she felt all her belongings still on her person.  They must have been small enough that her kidnappers did not notice them. Either that, or they did not see her as much of a threat, even with weapons.  She pressed her hands over an inner pocket of her faded leather jacket, feeling the hilt of her most prized possession.  She still had her small darksaber.  That would be nearly impossible to replace.

She finally glanced around the room.  It was simple, small, and dark.  She could hardly make out anything.  Briefly, she considered taking out her darksaber to light up the area, but its blade barely admitted any light of its own.  Better keep it safely tucked away so that no one would walk in on her using it.  It had taken her years to find the kyber crystal.  Losing this weapon would be more than inconvenient.

Her eyes eventually began to adjust.  She stood and walked to the door, placing her ear against it.  She tried the control panel, but it only blinked red at her.  She knew nothing about how it worked, so there was no way she could attempt to hack it.

Resigned, she headed back to the bed and sat down.  All she could do now was wait until her captors let her out.  Then, she could make her escape.


Eventually the sound of footsteps moving around would have notified Lanira that her captors had returned.  Muffled voices sounded cheerful as they stashed their cargo aboard the ship, and the ship engines shuddered to life.  The floor jerked as the freighter lifted off into Chandrila's atmosphere.


No.  No, no, no!  They could not be taking off!  Lanira jumped to her feet and rushed to the door.  She pressed her hands against it, tears falling freely down her face.  Chandrila was her home.  They had no right to take her away from there!  She fell to her knees by the door.  There was no escape in the vacuum of space.  She was lost.