Just Nobody

Just Nobody
Date of Scene:	03 December 2023
Location:	Lower City - Coruscant
Synopsis:	Tresslo and Navi meet a spice thief in the Lower City.
Cast of Characters:	Baelin Kalregar, Tresslo Covo, Navi

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Baelin Kalregar has posed:
    In the bowels of Coruscant, lie the dirty streets where the wealthy dare not look. The ramshackle homes stacked up in shabby blocks that the officials would rather ignore when entertaining guests from off-world. But today, a distressed young man tears through a street lined with open-air markets, and makes a sharp turn down a dark, narrow alleyway between two warehouses.

    His pursuers are hot on his tail, shouting various obscenities at him as onlookers gasp...and look the other way.

Tresslo Covo has posed:
    Jedi are an uncommon sight in the lower levels of Coruscant away from their shining temple, and when they do slink into the undercity, they do so quietly and shrouded in robes. Tresslo Covo blends into the crowd of onlookers well enough, but he stands a head taller than most and appears suspiciously at ease when the fleeing man and his onlookers barrel through the alleys. They rush by the hooded Padawan learner, and he presses his form against the vendor's stall, holding a jogan fruit in his hand.    

He looks in their direction with a slight frown on his face. "Wonder what that's about," He says to the Rodian merchant. After a few moments, he supposes that he better check it out and tosses the jogan back onto the fruit mound.

    He leaps into the air over stalls and the masses of citizens. Twisting gracefully and calling on the Force to push him further, he just manages to keep pace with the gang, quick and hooded in a dark robe. As he catches up to them, he listens carefully to see if he gets a sense of purpose in those obscenities.

Navi has posed:
The Force works in mysterious ways. By chance, another robed figure happens to be passing within a few yards of where the young Jedi will land. But this robe is different from a Jedi's, being belted shut at the waist, and edged in artfully cut (if cheap) gold-ish synthfabric, with flowing sleeves and a deep hood. A simple knapsack rides on its back, and a longish, tubelike metal instrument from a strap on one shoulder.

That hooded head perks up slowly at the sound of running feet and shouting, seeing the oncoming runners. A slight glance upward silently notes the leaping Jedi without calling attention to him, before the robed figure shrinks slowly back from the confrontation.

Baelin Kalregar has posed:
    The shouting seems to be accusing the man of theft of some kind. The two pursuers appear to consist of a large Devaronian, and a shorter, but more agile, Duros man.

    As Tresslo and Navi catch up to the commotion, it seems the fugitive's luck has run out, and he finds himself cornered at the end of the narrow alley. The man appears to be a human and around the same age as Tresslo himself...whether he did actually steal anything or not isn't clear yet, although he is carrying a bag with a cross-body strap in front.

    The Devaronian man laughs when it seems his quarry has nowhere to run. "Thought you could run from us, did ya, ya little sleemo..." he sneers, cracking his knuckles as he approaches the terrified young human.

Tresslo Covo has posed:
    Tresslo lands light on his feet, his robes billowing about him as he touches down...and bounds for the sky again in hot pursuit of the alleged thief and his pursers. Thief...Tresslo frowns deeply when he hears that and considers leaving the man to his fate. But it's too late, he's already landing right behind the Devarionian and the Duros.

    "Hey!" The hooded figure calls out, stepping forth confidently. "No need for violence. You," He points to the accused, the young man. "Give back whatever you stole and get out of here. Or else, I leave these two to punish you however they choose."

Navi has posed:
The other robe steps forward, unshouldering the longish metal instrument and holding it loosely in the center with one graceful hand. "Violence is bad... yes... please do not be violent..?" The voice sounds young, feminine, and hesitant. Her free hand points at the runner. "You should give them back their property." Then at the pursuers. "What has he taken?"

Baelin Kalregar has posed:
    When Tresslo and Navi step forward, the Devaronian looks shocked, then glares at them while the Duros keeps his gaze fixed on the accused thief. "The kriff are you Jedi doing down here, huh?" he growls, his hand going to a blaster holstered at his side.
    "None of your business," the Duros mutters when Navi asks what the man has taken.

    The supposed thief doesn't comply or appear to be at all fazed by Tresslo's threats. However, his demeanor just screams spice addict. He points a shaky finger at his accusers. "Th-them's...them's Kalregar's crew...sh-should be arrestin' -them-! M-me...I'm just...nobody..."

    At this, the two of them immediately draw their blasters and train them on the human teen. "Shut the frak up!" the Devaronian yells. "I'm gonna beat you senseless--"

Tresslo Covo has posed:
    Turning slightly to Navi, Tress seems a little surprised to see another person stepping up. He briefly wonders how he didn't notice her before focusing on the escalating situation. The thief is disobeying his command; he huff at that, walking past the armed men and positioning his body between them and the kid. "This man you follow, Kalregar, has he sent you after this young man?"

    Trying a gentler approach, he turns to the spice addict and says, "Look, I don't have a clue who that is, but you're going to have to hand over the bag. Whatever you're involved in, I can help but only if you let me," He stretches out a hand towards the kid, but there's an edge to his voice and those sea-green eyes too. He seems keenly aware that this might get ugly fast and ready to act, other hand drifting towards the insides of his robes.

Navi has posed:
"If you are beating him senseless, why do you need blasters?" Navi asks. At a press of a concealed thumb stud, the instrument in her right hand telescopes into a two-meter staff with weighted tips. "And we were talking so nicely, too..."

Then she looks to the tall Jedi. "Kalregar... ever since I arrived on this world, I have seen the posters. He is a spice dealer with a large price on his head. Sometimes he poses as a medical spice vendor, a legal one. He is what you would call a Bad Dude."

Baelin Kalregar has posed:
    "Shut yer trap!" The Duros snaps at Navi when she asks a legitimate question. But when she draws her weapon, he immediately opens fire on her with his blaster, turning it from the accused human thief toward her instead.

    Unfortunately, Tresslo's attempts to convince the other teen to cooperate don't succeed. Perhaps it's because he saw the padawan going for his lightsaber. Perhaps it was that edge in his voice. Either way, he just shakes his head. "D-don't touch me!" he demands, and cringes away.

    "That's it!" The Devaronian yells, and also opens fire with his blaster at Tresslo.

Tresslo Covo has posed:
    In an instant, all of Tresslo's Jedi training kicks in like instinct, and he spins back, hand outstretched towards the blaster rifle. The red bolt pings against his open palm and hits a graffitied wall. His fingers curl into something of fist, and the Devaronian feels the tug of the Force against his grip. The blaster slips from his fingers and into the hands of the Mirialan youth.

    "Last chance," He says with a self-satisfied grin, letting the gun fall like a feather onto the dirty street floor. "to return to your master, alive and well. I suggest you take it, but I suppose I could use a workout."

Navi has posed:
Navi's staff sweeps upward at an angle, but is just barely too slow, missing the Duros's hand by an inch or two..."

"AAAHH!" She stumbles back a pace, the left sleeve of her robe holed and smoldering!

Her eyes narrow. A split second later, that staff comes around in an arc, and the blaster goes flying from the Duros's hand. "Listen to the nice Jedi. It would be the smartest thing you have done all day," she admonishes her assailant.

Baelin Kalregar has posed:
    The two criminals find themselves easily bested by the two strangers. They aren't that surprised, but at least they can tell the boss they tried. The Devaronian at least glowers at them. "You don't know who you're protectin'." he growls, jabbing a finger in Tresslo's direction. "You're gonna regret this." then he turns to the Duros. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

    With that, they both turn and run off, disappearing into the night.

    As for the accused thief, the two of them find him sitting against the wall of one of the warehouses that surround the alleyway, indulging in a glitterstim...

Tresslo Covo has posed:
    Tresslo tilts his head when the crewmembers taunt him, his grin sharp like a dare. As they rush off, the Padawan straightens his tunic and looks at Navi. "Nice work. You're not too bad with that staff," He says, gesturing to the weapon with his chin. "Good thing that didn't get bloody. Then, I'd have to report it, and it would be a whole thing."

    He turns to the thief, sighing and pulling his hood back. "What should we do with him? He really shouldn't be doing that..." But now that the threat of physical danger has passed, it seems a little below a Jedi to handle some teen's addiction issues.

Navi has posed:
Navi retracts the staff, favoring her wounded arm. "Very good thing. I was only shot in the arm, that's all," she replies sarcastically. "Not a thing worth reporting."

She looks to the would-be thief, rolling her eyes as she sees him using glitterstim. "Spiceheads. We should probably contact the authorities to bring him in. Then he'll /have/ to get rehab. Possession of glitterstim and public intoxication are both jailing offenses, and they will not indulge his habit in the house of detention."

Baelin Kalregar has posed:
    The other teen finishes the glitterstim, then tosses it to the ground. He stares at them, although his gaze is oddly vacant. Yeah, he's definitely high.

    "N-no...please...d-don't call 'em judes..." he begs, staggering to his feet and attempting to get past them. "...th-them's gonna beat me..."

Tresslo Covo has posed:
    "Oh, right. Apologies, will you need assistance with your arm?" Tresslo offers to Navi, a little rueful. And yet Navi seems capable enough and gives some helpful legal advice despite her wound, so he won't press the matter of her getting treatment.

    Instead, he grabs the arm of teenage junkie. He isn't quite rough, but there's enough strength in his grip to lift the young man onto his feet. "Shh, it's okay. No one will hurt you while you're with me, okay? We're going to get you somewhere safe, and we can talk there. You can tell us more about Kalregar, and we'll get you some help."

    Tress keeps his hands firmly on the boy's shoulders, letting him keep the bag of glitterstims for now but making sure he doesn't use again. Glancing to Navi, he says, "My name is Tresslo Covo by the way. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Navi has posed:
"Navi, Novice of the Shining Brotherhood," Navi replies, using her unwounded arm to take the teen's other shoulder. "I've only just arrived from Jedha a week ago, with a contingent of my Brothers, to restart our chapterhouse on Coruscant. Not that I have charge of that noble undertaking... I am not nearly ready for a challenge like that."

She looks to the junkie, and then to Tresslo. "Is there someplace safe nearby? I will need to treat this wound, and he has questions for which you wished answers."