Clawdite No. 1

Clawdite No. 1
Date of Scene:	19 June 2024
Location:
Synopsis:	Heydan -almost- gets paid, but instead discovers someone's trying to kill him. The Jedi intervene.
Cast of Characters:	159, Heydan Seegil, Pike Windu, Navi, Cayde Alexis

---

Athena (159) has posed:
In the bowels of Coruscant, the late hour begins to creep towards midnight. Now, above the lower levels, most would either be sleeping, or at least resting peacefully in their homes, alongside their families. But not down here. No, nighttime is when the dank alleyways and dim streets come to life with illicit activity.

On Level 2623, a lone individual wearing a goggled helmet with spikes and a black trench coat lurks right outside the gambling den known as Raik's Parlor. He, or she, stays in the shadows and away from the street lamp, scanning the area for a particular contact: a certain Heydan Seegil, who is due payment.

And perhaps unbeknownst to this rather mysterious individual, a couple of undercover CSF agents have obscured themselves behind a rusty dumpster, watching the street carefully.

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil saunters along the walkway between buildings high above until he arrives at the door to Raik's Parlor. "Hi there.", he chirps as he approaches whom he assumes is the bounce, "I am supposed to meet someone here."

Pike Windu has posed:
    Sitting at at table inside the parlour is a hooded Jedi Master. Sticking out from his shadowed face is a smoking pipe. On the table in front of him is a modest stack of chips and some sabbacc cards face down.

Navi has posed:
To the hooded Jedi Master's right sits a robed and hooded figure, likewise tending a small stack of chips and a few sabacc cards. One, The Idiot, is face-up. The other two are still face-down.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Yes, most residents of the Upper City would either be in bed or chilling at home by now. But not Cayde. After all, he is only allowed to go out at night these days. Someone was supposed to be with him, but it wasn't as if the Council's verdict was going to change anything anyway. Before, it was the 'at night' part that would've been the problem. Now it's the other part, the 'alone' part.

    Anyway, he picks up on some familiar presences inside of the gambling parlor and pauses momentarily by the door as Heydan approaches the lurker.

Athena (159) has posed:
The shadowy figure, upon noticing Heydan, suddenly retreats deeper into the recesses of adjacent alley, completely obscuring themselves from view for several seconds. Then, moments later, a beautiful and innocent looking blonde human woman emerges from alleyway, also wearing a trench coat, but it's a different color and material.

The bouncer is about to tell Heydan off because he has no idea who he's supposed to be meeting, when the blonde woman smiles sweetly at Heydan and waves at him. "Mr. Seegil, correct?" she says, extending a hand towards him. "You'll have to excuse ... this place, I didn't choose it," she says. "My client, however, felt it would be best to do the exchange here." Regardless of whether Heydan chooses to shake her hand or not, she goes inside the gambling den and gestures for him to follow.

Once inside, she heads to a booth in the back of the establishment and takes out a console. She boots it up, then looks expectantly at Heydan. "I'm going to deposit the funds directly into your bank account," she says, "but in order to do that, I'll need your account number, your citizen card, and your permanent address." A pause. "There's something you should know, too," she adds. "This payment is... conditional. Acceptance of these credits will mean that you promise to permanently relocate to the Outer Rim and to never speak about the work you did here on Coruscant, or the events surrounding it." She offers him that sweet smile again. "I hope these conditions are agreeable."

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil screws up his face with a frown, "I mean..." he pauses sarcastically, "I already live on the Outer Rim so... sure!", and he then grabs the datapad to furiously tap in his information. "I suppose I'll finally find my way off the planet now too! That is just great. Thank you for giving me the gig and don't worry about this location. I mean it is sort of weird right all this cloak and dagger but whatever."

Pike Windu has posed:
    The Jedi Master lifts the edges of his card for a look. In contemplation, he takes a long draw on his pipe and exhales.

    "I don't like these cards. Fold."

Navi has posed:
The hooded figure beside him likewise inspects the two face-down cards. They are flipped, revealing a fairly solid hand. "Twenty-one. Stand," she says, as her voice is unlikely to belong to anyone who isn't young and female.

She studies a table just to the right of the game for a long moment. Then she lightly nudges the Jedi Master's elbow with her own. "Master... I think that man is being conned," she says, in a low voice. "Perhaps we should help him, before he does something he will regret."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde noticed that mysterious figure slinking into the alleyway, before a much more attractive individual emerged and went to speak to Heydan. Could it be the same person? One of those shifters? Once they've gone inside, he heads into the alley, to see if anyone is still lurking there, or to see if there's any evidence of someone having recently been hanging around or hiding.

Athena (159) has posed:
"Well," the blonde says with a chuckle, "you'll also be agreeing to not take any more gigs on Coruscant, or come back to the planet, period. But I'm sure you'll find a nice place away from Republic space to retire after this," she says. She then takes out a camera, and a thumbprint scanner. She pushes the thumbprint scanner towards Heydan, nodding for him to put his finger on it. "Now about your citizen's card. I'll need to take a picture of it in order to proceed."

When Heydan grabs the datapad, he might notice that there's something ... off about it. And it might occur to him that this all seems terribly involved, for an exchange where writing a check would have simply done the trick.

Just as Navi addresses Pike, the two undercover cops slink into the establishment. They scan the area and catch sight of Cayde, Navi, and Pike, just before squirreling themselves into a booth off to the side. One of them, a blonde human male, scowls upon seeing the young padawan, and Cayde may realize he's familiar looking.

Upon heading into the alleyway, Cayde will find nothing. There's no one there. The blonde woman... she must have been a shapeshifter, or the shadowy individual had taken off much quicker than anticipated.

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil hesitates when they mention he cannot take gigs on Coruscant again. "Well, hold on just a second.", he starts to look over the conditions being presented. While they might seem extreme he has played some other odd gigs before. "I cannot really agree to this then and it wasn't disclosed before the gig. I may have a festival or event to play on Coruscant in the future.", he says to her as he slides tho datapad back to her. "I already played the event and I don't really care enough to talk about it. Why is this being complicated?"

Pike Windu has posed:
    "I'm on duty?" The Jedi Master sees his creds are depleted and sighs. "I'm on duty."

    Windu throws back his hood and stands, making himself noticable. The beings around him make way.

Navi has posed:
"Right with you, Master," the robed sidekick replies. "Somebody had a 22 anyway." She stands, falling in beside Master Windu. Unlike him, she doesn't lower her hood.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde frowns and leaves the alley upon finding nothing. That woman must have been a shapeshifter. But, why? For a simple transaction like that, it seemed overly cautious.

    He enters the parlor, sitting down at the bar but near to the table where Heydan is, entering the shapeshifter's mind and attempting to determine who it is really...but more importantly, who they work for.

    The padawan is aware that someone familiar is around, although he doesn't specifically notice Navi and Pike, as he's become engrossed in searching the shifter's mind.

Athena (159) has posed:
The blonde's expression hardens for a moment, and she turns around fully to face Heydan. He'll notice when she does, that there's a silver blaster in her trench coat. She smiles, but the warmth of it doesn't reach her eyes. "Why Mr. Seegil, after this, you won't be needing to play anymore gigs. You'll be taken care of as long as you promise to never speak of that event and what happened there, isn't that what you want? Isn't that what everyone wants?"

"Trust me," she says, "I don't want this to be complicated either," she says, "now if you will ... your citizen card, please? After this, you'll be free to live all your wildest dreams, given you stay in the Outer Rim and pretend that gig you did for the Serenity Gala never happened."

Immediately, Cayde will discover that the woman is acutely aware that he's entered her mind, and she resists by suddenly thinking about something else that will take precedence over everything else - she's going to kill Heydan.

Abruptly, she stands up, and draws the silver blaster. "I'm sorry, Mr. Seegil," she says mechanically, pointing it right at the musician's forehead!

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil sees her finger come up and level itself at his forehead only to instinctively bat it away as he exclaims, "Whoa, baby, no need to get hasty. I am just saying you can just give me the credits. We don't need this contract and all that.", then he sarcastically adds, "What did you plan to sue me for a breach of contact later on? Really. Let's just keep this simple."

Navi has posed:
"I have a bad feeling we may be too late," Navi, the robed girl, says, drawing and extending her retractable staff with a soft but sharp series of clicks as the joints expand and lock. She breaks into a run toward the table, her eyes glued to that gleaming silver blaster as it comes level with the poor mark's forehead...

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu reaches for the Jedi weapon hanging from his belt as his pipe drops to the floor. As Navi shoots past the older man, he follows while crying out, "she's got a blaster! Everyone on the floor now!"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde frowns as the shifter is immediately aware of his presence and tries to resist him.

    Focusing, he attempts push harder against her and that's when he realizes she's about to attempt to shoot Heydan and kill him. That's when matters become a fair bit more urgent, and suddenly the gloves come off. He attempts to strip her of her free will, overcoming hers with his at least for the moment, and command her to drop the weapon immediately.

Athena (159) has posed:
But just before the blonde woman can fire, the young Sephi girl leaps up and knocks her gun aside with her retractable staff. "It wasn't supposed to work that way," she hisses at Heydan. Unable to resist Cayde's mind trick, she drops the gun and turns suddenly, merging into the now panicking crowd.

Unfortunately, when Pike yells to everyone that they should get on the ground, only some of them comply. The rest begin trying to flee the premises, screaming and waving their arms chaotically.

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil yells, "Ahh, what the fek?!?!" as the person who was to pay him disappears into the crowd during the commotion. "Guess, I am not getting paid. Bantha poodoo eating politicians and their lame galas.", he adds with an eye roll as he stands up from his seat and looks at the three jedi who now surround him.

Navi has posed:
Navi brings her staff into a ready stance, looking to the victim. "Have you been harmed?" she asks, glancing at the woman...

And she's gone! "What in... where'd she go?!" the blonde Sephi yelps, looking around frantically for the fleeing woman.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde tries to stay in the shifter's mind, although he doesn't try to force her to do anything. At least not outwardly. Instead, he just tries to find out where she's going, and who she works for. Gianka had been the one to promise payment...had she sent him?

Pike Windu has posed:
    The Force is with Pike as he locks onto the woman as she flees. The Jedi Master follows as best he can as beings crowd him. "Jedi business! Out of my way!"

Athena (159) has posed:
The two Jedi will barely be able to keep track of the blonde woman as she slips away when the sudden chaos unfolds, but they will glimpse her shedding the trench coat. But if they reach out into the Force, they'll be able to sense her retreating presence is exiting Raik's Parlor through a back door, but gone is the blonde hair and fair skin! The individual is a Clawdite, and at this distance with all the chaos unfolding, it's hard to discern exactly who she works for. But the young padawan will be able to tell that she works for an Outer Rim crime boss who had been hired by someone else, whose identity remains unclear for the time being. AS for where she's going - the only thing on her mind right now is getting away from the Jedi!

The two undercover cops immediately stand once the parlor becomes an exodus frenzy. "Damn those Jedi!" the blonde human cop curses under his breath, and immediately exits the establishment, his partner in tow.

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil frowns at the Jedi who questioned him and replies, "Only my bank account. She was supposed to pay me for playing the gala. These politicians and their games. First they drag me back to the Core, then they have me play lame old music, then they poisoned me at the gala, and now their are being stingy."

Navi has posed:
"Somehow I don't think the politicians had anything to do with this. Not the Senator and his aide, anyway. Not so sure about that sneaky holojournalist or the smarmy one," Navi replies. She can't help overhearing the two CSO's leaving. "Jerks. Maybe if they'd moved sooner, none of this would've happened."

"Also, I'm not a Jedi... my name is Navi, and I'm a Novice of the Shining Brotherhood. I've just been working with the Jedi a lot lately."

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike reaches the exit and stops. He's lost "her". But he's not the chasing type anyway. Fighting his way through the crowd, he goes back to find Navi and Heydan.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde hurries toward the back door, heading out a window and trying to beat the Clawdite there to intercept her on the other side...

Athena (159) has posed:
Once on the other side, Cayde will find himself face to face with a orange skinned Twi'lek teenager. As soon as the young padawan appears, he stops in his tracks and acts afraid. "What-What do you want, Jedi?? I didnt do anything..."

Just then, the two undercover cops appear, and grab the boy by the neck. "You're trespassing," the blonde undercover cop hisses, "both of you. Now get gone!"

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil nods in understanding, "Oh, a Novice. No idea what that brotherhood is but thank you for coming to my aide. Whomever it was I suppose I am not going to get paid." He then frowns intensely, "I don't think I am ever going to get off this planet and back home."

Navi has posed:
"Talk to the Senator personally. He seems like a stand-up sort. Likewise his pretty aide. But if it was the smarmy one you made a deal with, I don't know... if he's got a connection with that woman, whoever she is, then I wouldn't trust him. I don't," Navi adds softly. "I'll stay here and play bodyguard until the woman is caught or whatever. I'd rather she didn't get another shot at you."

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike comes up to Navi and Heydan. "Stay here? Certainly not. Take him to the Temple where he can be questioned about why he's a target. Give Annelia's padawan soething to do. "

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde doesn't answer the other teen's question, instead he reaches with the Force again, attempting to learn just who the Clawdite works for. Now that he's in closer proximity to her, he should be able to learn something else useful...

    When the officers appear and grab the boy, he doesn't move, just staring into nothingness as if no one is home.

Athena (159) has posed:
The Clawdite is part of an Outer Rim crime syndicate that works closely with the Hutts. However, they have no idea who hired their boss. The Clawdite is a lackey, no more, no less.

The blonde human undercover cop starts to drag the Twilek boy away, while the other one, a Nautolan woman, approaches Cayde aggressively and attempts to drag him back into the parlor over to where Navi and Pike are. "You Jedi need to stop meddling," she hisses.

Heydan Seegil has posed:
Heydan Seegil exclaims, "Aww, what the fek?! Again??", he then rolls his eyes and head around his shoulders and follows the Novice along with Jedi to the Temple adding, "Well, lets get this over with. Third time this month I have been questioned."

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike groans when he sees Cayde. But realizing that the padawan is in some kind of trouble, the Jedi Master steps forward.

    "Unhand him and identify yourself."

Navi has posed:
"I... suppose that would be best, Master," Navi replies hesitantly. "Don't worry, sir... the Temple is the most secure location on Coruscant. At least, it is when those tours aren't going on, and even then it's still very, very secure. No murderous con artist can get near you there."

She follows Pike outside, gasping softly when she sees Cayde deep in a trance, and the Twi'lek youth effectively scruffed by the CSO. "Geez, what'd /he/ do?"

She reaches out to Cayde through the Force, seeking to touch minds. <<Cayde? What's going on? Who's the Twi'lek kid? And did you see where that blonde con-woman went?>>

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde blinks and withdraws from the Clawdite when the officers drag her away. It seems she doesn't know who is really behind this. He sighs, shaking his head as Navi reaches out to him. He points at the Twi'lek when Navi asks the question of where the con-woman went.

    [Clawdite] he signs, nodding. [Criminal...but no idea who hired it]

Athena (159) has posed:
The Nautolan woman smirks. "What's it to you?" she says disdainfully. A pause. "He yours?" she asks, arching a brow at Pike. "Anyway, you all should run along home. We've got this taken care of, and you'll hear about it shortly." She then turns to leave with her colleague, who's taking the Twilek away.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Aware of the Order's precarious situation, Windu doesn't challenge the cop. Looking at Cayde and Navi, the Master only shrugs. "Let's go. And don't forget the musician."

Navi has posed:
<<I see. Thanks for the heads-up.>> Navi moves to follow Pike and Cayde. "I won't, Master. It seems the con-woman was a Clawdite, but we don't know who hired her. Our friend the musician was supposed to play at the summit, it sounded like, and he has not been paid yet. It's possible Vlavek hired him and hasn't paid him."