The Informant's Gambit: The Fight Ring

The Informant's Gambit: The Fight Ring
Date of Scene:	23 December 2023
Location:
Synopsis:	Navi must participate in a pit fight to prove her innocence.
Cast of Characters:	195, Navi

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Welona, 3rd Taungsday, Third Day of the Festival of Balance, 300BBY

Amarik (195) has posed:
Regardless of whether Navi is able to get any sleep or not, the night will pass uneventfully after Zealot leaves.

In the morning, she'll hear the security mechanism on the door buzz unlocked, and the private investigator from the day before enters, carrying a backpack and a datapad.

Navi has posed:
Navi stirs from what must be her millionth interrupted nap since Zealot left at the sound of the door buzzing open. Stiff and achy from restless sleep on a hard floor, she rises hesitantly, blushing faintly, and draws her wrinkled robe back on.

"Could you give housekeeping a message to provide fresh towels and linens?" she asks, her tone gently sarcastic. "Now that /that/ is out of the way, I hope your night was better than mine. Has anything come out about the mess I am in?" she says, in a weary but more friendly tone.

Amarik (195) has posed:
The Zeltron doesn't answer her question. Instead, he makes a beckoning motion. "We're going for a walk," he announces.

"Don't worry, I got permission from the police to take you out on a metaphorical leash," he says, holding up an ankle monitor and then tossing it to her.

Navi has posed:
Navi catches the device with a little sigh. "I could live with something a bit more metaphorical," she observes, taking a seat and strapping the monitor around her left ankle. "So where are we walking?"

Amarik (195) has posed:
The Zeltron arches a brow at her, smirking slightly. "Walking? Who said we were walking?" He lowers his sunglasses and leads her outside to that vintage looking speeder bike he'd been protective of before.

Navi has posed:
"Well, this sounds a little more fun," Navi admits, climbing on behind him. "You may have to tell me what to do. It's been a long time since I've ridden a speeder bike, as rider or passenger."

Amarik (195) has posed:
"Hold on," he says, a mischievous, boyish grin spreading across his features.

And before Navi can fully close her hands on the nearest thing to her that's stable, they're off, going much faster than what seems legal.

Navi has posed:
Navi can't help a surprised squeal as the bike takes off, instinctively wrapping her arms around the Zeltron's waist as tightly as she can! And that's how she stays for the duration of the ride.

Amarik (195) has posed:
Vons laughs. He seems greatly amused by the fact that she seems to have no experience riding a speeder going this fast.

He pushes the throttle all the way down as they navigate some of Jedha's hilly avenues, making Navi's insides lurch into her mouth.

She might be a bit surprised when he takes her out of the Holy City completely...

Navi has posed:
Navi can't help being thrilled by the speeder bike ride, even if her tight grip may make her seem timid. But she is definitely surprised when the journey takes them outside of the Holy City. "Are you sure the police are okay with us going out of town?!" she shouts over the noise of the repulsorlift drive.

Amarik (195) has posed:
Again, he doesn't answer her question. Instead, he just smirks, and pushes down hard on the throttle. Whether he hadn't heard her, or just has chosen not to respond will remain a mystery for now.

He finally pulls the speeder to a stop in front of small permacrete building in the middle of nowhere. He jumps off the bike and gestures for her to head towards the structure. "This is our stop," he says, "after you."

Navi has posed:
Navi climbs off of the bike, her legs slightly wobbly in the wake of the wild ride. "What /is/ this place?" she asks softly, cautiously approaching the building.

Amarik (195) has posed:
"Why dont you go inside and have a look?" Vons offers. "Don't worry, I'm right behind you."

From where she's standing, she'll be able to hear loud music coming from inside the permacrete building. This place definitely didnt seem like somewhere she would belong...

Navi has posed:
Navi glanced uncertainly back at Vons as she touched the door button. "This doesn't sound like my kind of place," she says, cautiously stepping through the now-open door. Even as she clears the threshold, she looks back for Vons.

Amarik (195) has posed:
He just arches his brows and gestures for her to go inside.

Indeed, this place isn't at all a place someone like her would normally belong. Spice haze lingers in the air, and loud music is blaring from speakers mounted on the walls. There's multiple tables where drunk aliens smoking death sticks gamble over piles of zukkels.

But most notable about this place is... the fight rings stationed on the lower level. There's a balcony which over looks the arenas, and Navi will be able to observe several contestants opposing one another in what seems like a fight to the death...

Navi has posed:
Navi makes her cautious way closer to one of the rings, until she realizes what she's looking at. Horrified, she turns away, looking for Vons. "Why would you bring me someplace like this? What does this have to do with proving me innocent?" she cries.

Amarik (195) has posed:
But he's gone. It's rather crowded in here, and somehow, she must have gotten separated from him when she'd come in.

A hulking Dowutin elbows her impolitely on his way over to the bar, and Navi will find herself nearly bowled over by the motion...

Navi has posed:
Navi staggers a few paces under the force of the elbow blow, steadying herself after a moment. She begins to make her way among the crowd, searching for Vons. Surely he wouldn't just abandon her here...

... would he? It would be a terrible place to be stranded, especially if the police have taken away her satchel, staff, and comlink. And money!

And there's always the risk that the police will think she's trying to escape...

Amarik (195) has posed:
Navi might notice that the Dowutin who had shoved her aside in his drunken stupor while making his way to the bar, has knocked a young Weequay female off her barstool to make room for himself at the counter.

The young Weequay female is not at all pleased, and starts cussing out the Dowutin, who easily pushes her to the floor...

Navi has posed:
Navi hurries over to help the Weequay girl to her feet. "Geez... have a heart, big guy! She was there first," she protests, offering the female a hand up.

Amarik (195) has posed:
The Weequay girl thanks Navi and gets to her feet quickly, but the Dowutin looks upset at Navi.

"You wanna fight?" he growls, advancing on the young Sephi girl. "Then let's -fight-." Several other patrons at the bar jeer with enthusiasm, and suddenly, Navi will find herself being dragged by two Chagrians towards the the lower level where the fight rings are, the Dowutin close in tow...

Navi has posed:
"Hey, wait!" Navi protests, but even as she says it, she gets a sinking feeling that the only way out of this mess is to fight her way out. The look of the aliens around her, especially their eyes, says as much.

"Wish I had my staff about now..." she murmurs, concentrating on keeping her feet, and possibly her robe. The Chagrians don't seem much concerned about anything besides getting her to the ring, and she doubts they'd stop to retrieve anything she lost on the way.

Amarik (195) has posed:
Indeed, the Chagrians don't seem to care about anything other than getting her into the ring.

Once they reach it, they toss her face first onto the floor of the arena and then drop a spear on the ground next to her.

She'll notice the Dowutin has also already been given one, and with a loud roar, is aiming to charge her with his assigned weapon...!

Navi has posed:
Navi clambers to her feet, one hand closing around the spear, only to find the Dowutin charging her! She instinctively whips her spear around in an arc to swat away that oncoming point, but the force of the impact staggers her, almost knocking her off her feet!

Reeling a little in the wake of the clash, her vision swimming partly out of focus, she reverses the spear and jams the butt end of the shaft between the Dowutin's calves, trying to force a trip...

As fast as he's going, he has no way to stop, and a moment later he plows his length on the arena floor! Leaping onto his back with a neatly-executed little somersault, she presses the spear tip to the back of his nexk, her feet planted firmly on his massive shoulder blades. "You're done, Muscles. If I was anyone else, you'd be dead," she pronounces.

Amarik (195) has posed:
He lies limp there for a good ten seconds, and for a moment, Navi may be tricked into thinking that he perhaps hit his head a little too hard and has passed out.

The crowd murmurs in quiet disatisfaction. The referee looks irritated. "Don't be a fluff brained nerf herder, kill him!" he yells. "Only -one- ever walks out of the arena...!"

And then suddenly, the Dowutin rolls over and grabs her spear, and with a mighty swipe to the left, attempts to fling her sideways...

Navi has posed:
"NO! I am NOT a murderer!" Navi screams in frustration, sickened by the bloodsport. Unfortunately, she's let her guard down, and suddenly, with a dopplering shriek of dismay, she's sent flying, spear and all!

Her impromptu flying lesson ends with a thud and the rushing of all of the air out of her lungs as she hits the sandbag barrier on the other side of the arena. Tumbling to the floor, she struggles to her feet, bringing her spear shakily into a ready position.

Amarik (195) has posed:
The Dowutin charges her again, but this time she's able to evade his onslaught by sliding underneath him and extending the spear towards his ankles. He almost runs into the sandbag barrier and trips over it, but at the last second he manages to stop himself by throwing out his arms.

He'll whirl around then, bellowing loudly while he advances aggressively, slashing and swiping in a relentless barrage.

Navi has posed:
Navi backs away from that probing, slashing spear, guarding with her own weapon. Even as she does, she tugs the belt of her robe loose in preparation...

And suddenly she momentarily drops her spear and, shrugging off her robe with a sloppy little twirl that should've been effortless and graceful, throws it at the hulking alien's face!

Unfortunately for her, her aim is not the best, and she manages only to get the robe around the Dowutin's neck. Catching the ends of her robe, she tries to choke her opponent into unconsciousness, but he's just too strong, and the position of her robe and hands leaves her with no leverage.

Seconds later the Dowutin twists and thrashes, and the robe is torn from her grasp. All she managed to accomplish was to get her belt half-wrapped around her left forearm and sacrifice her only outer garment. Not to mention a large measure of her surviving dignity...

Amarik (195) has posed:
But before Navi is able to fully regain awareness of her surroundings and circumstances, the sound of six blaster shots puncture the air, and suddenly, she'll find herself blinded by a cloud of singed sand. Someone had shot open several of the sandbags, and now she won't be able to see a kriffing thing.

However, there will be no need to panic -- she'll find a firm hand closing around hers, pulling her up and leading her away from the arena while the Dowutin and most of the spectators cough and gag in an attempt to clear the fine dust from their eyes...

Navi has posed:
Navi, half-naked and half-blinded by scorched sand, stumbles along blindly as her hand is seized and she's pulled from the arena and through the crowd, hopefully toward safety! She has barely enough presence of mind to pull her cloth belt from around her left forearm before it slips loose and is lost.

"Please, please tell me we accomplished something here! 'Cause I couldn't tell you what it was!" she cries in frustration. She's assuming it's Vors who saved her butt back there, but since she can't really see at the moment, she could be wrong...

After all, that Weequay girl might be feeling grateful.

Amarik (195) has posed:
"Yeah, we're done here," the familiar voice of the Zeltron man comes from... somewhere.

He hands her a damp towel so that she can wipe her face and get most of the sand out of her eyes, and an oversized flannel trenchcoat to wear over her undergarments. The next thing Navi will know is that they're outside, on his bike, heading away from the small permacrete building, albeit at a much slower pace this time. "You good?" he asks.

Navi has posed:
Navi wraps up in the coat gratefully, securing it with her cloth belt in addition to its own belt. "Let's see... I've just been in a deathmatch for helping a girl up, I feel like I've had hot embers ground into my eyes, my arms are halfway out of joint, and I've lost my clothes. Other than that, I'm fantastic," she replies sarcastically.

"Thanks for the coat," she adds, more contritely, after a moment's silence. "I'm sorry for being rude to you. It's just... it's been A Day. And I'm still trying to figure out what we were even doing there."

Amarik (195) has posed:
The Zeltron man shrugs. "Helping prove your innocence," he says. "I managed to get the arena fight recorded, with both visual and audio. Your style of fighting, does not match the way the victims were killed. They were murdered from afar. The photos might have looked grisly, but aside from the holes in their chest, there was no sign of any kind of struggle, or fight. And at this point, it would be hard to argue that you faked a style of fighting, especially when you had no idea that you would come here or that your opponent would be a Dowutin who wanted to kill you. Also, from a logical standpoint, if you had wanted any chance of surviving, you would have engaged in a ranged attack, if that, in fact, was a skill you possessed. No one with less than average melee ability would win in hand to hand combat against a guy like that."

"Additionally, if you were in fact guilty, why knowingly and unnecessarily put yourself into a situation where you have a fake a fight style? That makes no sense."

Navi has posed:
"Okay... I just hope the police think as much of your reasoning as you do. They sure don't seem inclined to listen to /me/," Navi replies wearily, once more holding on tightly as the speeder bike wends its way back toward the Holy City.

After several seconds of silence, she adds, "So what are we doing /after breakfast/?" If she's being sarcastic, it's very hard to tell.

Amarik (195) has posed:
"Well I sure hope they do, they hired me specifically to take this case."

"Shit, you want me to treat you?" he says with a chuckle. "Damn, never thought I'd take a suspect out for caf, but fine. I need to take all this back to the police station first though, and see if I can argue for your release."