A First Time for Everything (Silus Xilarian)

I brush my blonde hair aside as I check my chrono. He will be crossing my path soon, thanks to the comm message that had been left one standard week previously. Curious, he would have taken his ship, possibly the Dragon even, and come to Nar Shaddaa. The message had been cryptic, but not laughably so.

We know about your relationship with the Sith Witch De'Ville. Meet us at the Drunken Gamorrean in the Po District on Nar Shaddaa, one week hence. We can discuss the price of our silence.

Either he will be coming to laugh at me for the ridiculousness that anyone would dare try to blackmail him, or to deal. Either way, he will be here today.

Which is exactly what I want. Silus Xilarian, served up on a platter. He doesn't know me, but he won't forget me.

We. That was an interesting word. A word that Silus had thought over more than once on his way to Nar Shaddaa. By itself, it wasn't much to ponder on, however, in the present context, the word provoked more thought than Givinian math problem.

Silus knew from the beginning that Lileana had enemies, but up until now, it wasnt something he really thought about. At first it would have seemed like a cut and dry shakedown. Silus wasnt the wealthiest man in the galaxy by a long shot, but to say he lived confortably was a bit of an understatement. However, the execution of this particular shake down seemed pretty suspect. Obviously, these people knew a good bit about De'Ville, so they should have known that, given recent events, they would have a much greater chance at success dealing directly with her. Of course, this could have also been an attempt to deal directly with De'Ville, with Silus becoming a bargaining chip. That would have been a sight. And of course, the other obvious choice. Someone could have had an old score to settle with Silus, and was using De'Ville as bait.

No matter the situation, these 'people' already had the big advantage of knowing what was going on. They also had the homefield advantage. Whether they knew it or not, Silus never did any exclusive work for ANY hutts, so the chance of him having friends on Nar Shaddaa was slim.

But what can you do in a situation like this. The suspense was killing him more than anything. If nothing else, these people managed to get his curiousity, which was enough to lead him just about anywhere.

After leaving Onderon, Silus went to Coruscant first. The Dragon wasnt a small ship by any means, so bringing it anywhere near the smugglers moon was bound to attract more attention than Silus wanted at this time. Instead, he pulled his Corellian YT-2400 freighter, Striker, out of a long term dock on Coruscant.

His arrival on Nar Shaddaa had went well, as he had passed two other ships similar to his on the way in. Needless to say, a beat up corellian freighter blended well there. After a short air taxi ride to the Po District, Silus was making his way into the Drunken Gamorrean. He removed his shades as he walked in, giving the room a quick scan as he made his way to the back corner of the bar. Unsurprisingly, the corner booth was occupied by a lone rodian. Instead of asking the rodian to move, Silus simply walked up to the table. The rodian, who was overcome with a strange, unexplainable feeling of discomfort, quickly stood up and made his way out of the bar.

Silus calmly sat down and signaled for the waitress...

Silus is deep into the third of whatever it is he's drinking when I arrive. I only know this because there are two matching empty glasses on his table.

True to what I know of his habits, he has taken a corner booth, where he can see both entrances and exits. I twirl a blonde curl around my finger as I take a seat at the bar, my short skirt showing a lot of leg as I get up on the stool. I make eyes at the bartender, a surly fellow who is certainly not my type, and am soon happily sipping a sweet fruity concoction.

Twisting around on my barstool, I am flirting with indecency in my skirt as I survey the bar, as though looking for a conquest. And, in a way, I am. I catch Silus' eye, and drop an eyelid in a sultry wink before returning to scan the rest of the bar. There's a sulky looking rodian sitting at a table; he seems interested in Silus as well, although disgruntled.

After taking my time making sure the human and other compatible males are very aware of me, and my skirt, I move to get off my bar stool. Ah! Clumsy me. I've caught my heel on the stool.

My drink drops out of my hand as I tumble to the floor, smashing and staining my light pink outfit with soggy blue splashes. One of my hands vainly tries to smooth my skirt down as I try to regroup, and maybe get off the dirty floor.

Silus was starting to get a bit impatient. He was already on his third drink, and still no sign of whoever it was that called him here. A blonde at the bar caught his eye, as she did with most of the bar. In fact, if there was anyone not paying her attention, they soon were, as she took a rather nasty fall off of her barstool. Silus took another drink to hide the chuckle he was stifling back, but continued his interest in her.

Something was very off with this woman, and the fall had nothing to do with it. Mainly, it was her dress and demeanor. They weren't sitting in the classiest of bars out the moment, and to call the surrounding area 'rough' would be an understatement. Simply put, with a body like hers, coupled with that skirt, it would take a monument of sheer luck for her to have even made it to the bar without getting drug down a back alley. Whether she realized it or not, she was getting a lot more of Silus' attention than he led on.

Silus is certainly not a gentleman, because he has failed to rise to the bait and come and help out a lady in distress. Frustrated, my brow crinkles and I slap away a helping hand from a non-so-well intentioned man. "I'm fine, thanks." My voice is low and sultry, better suited to the pleasure dens of Zeltros than a dive bar in the Po District of Nar Shaddaa. Not that I care, everything here is as it is for a reason.

I get back to my feet, a cleaning droid already heading for the shattered glass and spilled drink. My heels are a bit ridiculous for the lower streets of the Smuggler Moon, but I adjust them carefully, bending over to do so and flashing my target with my plain white undergarments.

I turn around to face Silus' corner table, and catch his eye as he glances at me. I smile, relieved to see a decent looking face in the room, and head towards him, slapping away another hand that tries to lift my skirt as I pass. There's a bit of cursing behind me, but I ignore it and beeline to Silus.

I'm five foot eight, but with my heels I am perilously close to six feet tall, so I lean over a bit as I address him. "Have a spare napkin?"

Casually, Silus reaches over and retrieves a napkin from the other end of his table and hands it to her. Of course, this is the part where Silus would have offered her a seat. However, the woman was trying way too hard to keep his attention. This was beginning to seem like Carmen Darksun all over again. The woman went to GREAT lengths to get Silus' attention. And she turned out to be a psycho. This bit of past education, coupled with the fact that Silus was here for a very specific reason, pretty much had Silus fully prepared to put a burning blaster hole between her gorgeous blue eyes.

Which would be a damn shame.

"Thanks." I take the napkin, smile a bit, and then turn around and make my way back to the bar. The same hand grabs for my skirt, and I quickly turn around, facing the forward male. "Hey now, you know you aren't allowed to touch."

"That's just at the club." He winks at me, and reaches for me again, pulling me onto his lap. I resist just a tiny bit, enough to show that this isn't part of my plan, but not enough to cause a scene. "Gimme a kiss, sweet'eart." His grizzled face scratches my smooth cheek as I twist away from him.

Planting my hands in the middle of his chest, I smile sweetly while pushing him away from me and trying to get up. "And following the new girl when she gets off work isn't exactly kosher, either. I don't mind you coming to the club to see me, but I'm off the clock. And I'm meeting someone here, and that someone isn't you."

Silus fumbled around inside of his coat for a moment, first removing a couple of credits, in which he laid on the table, then a pack of cigarettes. He gave the bottom of the pack a bit of a bump, knocking one of the cigarettes halfway out of the pack. He started hunting his lighter as he stood up and started to make his way outside the bar. There was fresh air outside, at least fresher than inside, and he planned to thoroughly ruin it with smoke while he waited.

Well, well, well, he's finally moving out of the booth. I ignore the grizzled man who is pawing at me, and get to my feet abruptly. Silus is searching for something in his pockets as he walks behind me. Perfect.

I pivot on my left foot, displaying an unusal bit of agilty and balance with my heels, and kick Silus solidly in the shoulder. Hands in his pockets, he starts to go down hard, into some tables.

'Whoever did that is going to die', was Silus' first thought as he went crashing forward. He landed on a table, which didn't last long under his weight. After being introduced to the floor, he immediately rolled onto his back. In his right hand was a blaster, which he began firing in the direction he figured the kick had come from.

Silus goes down hard, and I put my hand into the air, pulling my lightsaber with the Force from it's hiding place in a light fixture. The pommel smacks solidly into my palm as Silus rolls onto his back, and I flick the saber on, deflecting his shots away with ease.

The bright jade blade flickers another color for a moment, and I pull with the Force, yanking at the blaster trying to remove it from Silus' hand. "Time to die, sweetheart."

ooc note: Silus, your mission is to survive... if you can. If you have any questions, ask Lilaena De'Ville, but she probably won't tell you anything until this thread is over.

As the woman pulled at the blaster in his hand, Silus let go of it. She was using a saber, so a blaster wasn't exactly any kind of advantage. In fact, Silus even helped her out a bit, pushing the blaster toward her even faster and out of it's original course. Now it was heading for her face.

Now that he was rid of his blaster, Silus quickly rolled over and scrambled for the door.

I duck the blaster and run after Silus, my heels making a lot of noise on the floor as I follow him out the door. As he reaches the outside, I push with the Force, sending him sprawling.

As Silus nearly regained his feet, he was sent to the ground again by a nudge from the force. As he fell forward, he tucked and rolled, bring himself around to face the woman as he brought himself up to one knee. He was still out of the woman's striking range, so he allowed himself a moment to catch his breath and size the woman up a bit.

He's on one knee, looking at me, sizing me up. While he takes a breather, I'm busy gathering the Force around me.

Saber in hand, I take a step towards him, my heels clicking on the pavement. "No questions, Mouth? Thought you were a talker."

Silus smiled slightly.

With a cry I throw my hands forward, saber still gripped tightly in my right hand, and the ground underneath his feet explodes. It's a simple enough manipulation of matter, but it had taken a few moments for me to gather my strength to make the explosion deadly enough.

I run forward into the spray of dust and rocks, disintegrating a few of the more dangerous ones with my blade as I charge Xilarian.

A slight rumble was enough to trigger Silus' reflexes. He sprang backward as the blast erupted, narrowly missing a few very nasty shards of rock, not to mention the force blast that probably would have relieved him of his legs. He was now standing a few feet back from where he had been, now a bit startled and considerably filthy. He was beginning to figure out that this wench wasnt your average street rat. But more importantly at the moment, he realized that she had just given him a tool to use against her.

As she blazed her way through the cloud she had created, there were two things she didnt see. There was no Silus standing at the other side, and no Silus laying in little bits on the ground. In fact, there was no Silus to be seen at all. So she really didn't find three things, kind of, I think. Either way, with a whole lot of nothing to chase, Silus was content to see her reaction, as he now stood at the side of the bar entrance, twisting himself into the scenery with a clever twist of the mind.

Finding nothing, I whirl around, settling the debris to the ground with a flick of the Force. I roll my wrist, my saber circling around to an offensive position as I scan the immediate area. The man is skilled, but he can't have gone far.

The slight buzz between my ears tells me he's using some sort of mind trick on me. There is no one in sight - all the bystanders have fled except for one who died when the sidewalk exploded. My heels navigate the rubble on the ground expertly, and I turn around as I walk, trying to cover all the angles. Frustrated, I slash my saber through the air, hoping blind chance will assist me more than my skills can.

Her senses served her well. The blade arc wildly toward Silus, causing him to leave his little hiding spot. He faded into visibility fractions of a second before the blade came, and he was already rushing forward. He brought his hands up to grab her, his left hand catching the wrist of her saber arm, stopping her swing, while his right hand darted under her chin. Using size to his advantage, he turned sharply, snatching her around forcibly into the wall that was behind him just seconds ago.

Blind chance served me well, as it has in the past, but he wrenches my saber arm and slams me back into the wall by my throat. I'm stunned a little and my saber falls from my hand, disengaging as it hits the ground.

Before he can press in too close for comfort, I lift my legs up, planting my heels in his stomach and groin as I kick him away from me. Back to the wall, I have all the leverage I need.

As soon as Silus hears the saber disengage, he loosens his grip. He knew she wasnt giving up, but with the energy blade temporarily out of the picture, he's free to let go of her throat and pummel her about the face. The girl had different plans though. Showcasing her agility, she pulls both legs up and lands a pretty solid shot with her feet just as Silus has loosened up.

He stumbled backwards, and dropped down to one knee, letting out a slight cough of discomfort.

I draw the lightsaber back into my hands, squeezing his throat with the Force as I slash downwards at his unprotected head.

Silus found himself unable to move, as he was now being choked. As the green blade made its way toward his head, his hand came up, and his own red blade sprung to life, barely catching the attack in time.

As he pushed back, he let the force explode forth from him, giving her a rough shove away from him, allowing him back to his feet.

I'm stumbling backwards, having to use a bit of concentration so I don't fall off my heels. His push has sent my arm to the side, exposing my center to attack, but he's too busy getting back to his feet to notice.

Bringing my saber into an offensive stance, I start forward again, striking horizontally this time. He rebuffs my saber, answering with his own swipe. Our sabers blur into a colorful collage of sound and light as we dance around each other.

I frown, feeling that something is not quite right in my mind. "Bastard!" I slash viciously under his attack, ducking his saber and going in for his side.

As Silus turns, he brings his foot up, kicking her saber arm away as he spins around, his own saber now aimed to either behead her, or chop her clear in half.

His saber lands solidly with hers, and they both draw back again, this time locking sabers up high.

Now face to face with his enemy, Silus' face begins to crack into a smile...

"Don't tell me we're not having fun anymore."

He's got height on me, and being locked together with him, arms high, is a bad situation. He starts to bear down on me, his saber inching towards my face. "Fun? We're just gettin' started."

Keeping my arms pushing against his saber, I viciously kick at his knee and then slam my pointed heel down on his instep.

Silus let out a pained growl as her heel dug into his foot. At the same time though, a signal quietly travelled down Andromeda's leg, and her own foot, nearly in unison with Silus', erupted in pain.

With both of them pushing, they managed to seperate a bit. Silus could sense a bit of confusion from his opponent, just as she could sense a bit of satisfaction from him.

"You ok over there?"

I shake my head, blonde hair flinging out of my eyes. "What have you done to me?" I blast him with a Force push, trying to send him over the edge of the walkway and down into the crevasse between buildings.

As Silus flies over the edge of the walkaway, he manages to pull a full flip and grab hold of a piece of conduit.

His first thought is to pull an illusion, and make her think he has fallen, but with the link he's made between them, he effectively can not stealth. Instead, he opts to spill the beans.

As she saunters toward him, Silus pulls the ace out of his sleeve.

"I would think long and hard about that, Princess"

I pause, my lightsaber ready to cut through the conduit he's holding on to. "Why shouldn't I? You're not worthy. They were right, you are weak."

I slash down at his hand.

Her swing was proof positive that she wouldn't even give his bluff the light of day, so Silus resorted to plan B.

He pulls himself up and to the side as hard as he can, and swings his opposite arm up. His saber goes flying onto the walkway above, and his now free hand manages to catch Andromeda's ankle. Her leg is pulled out from underneath her as Silus begins to fall.

He hoped that she would manage to grab hold of something. If not, at least he had the pleasure of taking her with him.

"Gaah!" My swing aborts as my feet go flying out from underneath me. I manage to drop my saber on the walkway as I scrape over the edge, the weight of Silus bringing me down.

My right hand snags the conduit Xilarian had been holding onto moments before, and I grit my teeth as my fall abruptly halts. For a moment we just hang there, Silus clinging like a limpet to my ankle. Breathing hard through my mouth, I try to grab the conduit with my left hand as well, causing my passenger to swing a little.

My side burned from scraping the edge of the walkway, and my hand was starting to slip. Unfortunately for Silus, the straps on my shoe were also weakening. One of them popped free under his grip. "Well isn't... this... something..." I shoved the fingers of my left hand into a crack in the duracrete wall.

"well, dont mind if I do..."

Unless she was strong enough to haul Silus' heavy frame back up to sweet and stable ground, Andromeda would have to settle with hanging on while Silus used her as a human ladder.

He found her legs very easy to hold on to, but found himself having to leave her for the nearby ledge as he reached her thigh. From there he would have had to use her clothing, and he didnt think it would hold up to his weight. With a bit of a swing, Silus let go and grabbed another nearby hand hold.

At that point, both of them went scrabbling up for stable ground.

I pulled myself up as he released my legs, giving him a bit of a kick as I used his now available shoulder for leverage. My shoe abandoned my foot, and fell soundlessly into the depths below.

Soundlessly until it hit a speeder, that is. The screech and squeal of brakes punctuated the air as I scrambled to my feet. Lopsided, I tried to get my second shoe off in time, before Silus decided to chop my head off.

As she struggled to get her shoe off, Silus force pushed her, easily toppling her over with her current lack of balance. As he stalked toward her, he pulled his saber to his hand, ignited it, and lazily drug the tip of the blade along the ground.

From the ground it is easier to pull off the offending heel, and I throw it at Silus' head and turn a backwards somersault to get to my feet. Calling my lightsaber to my hand, I get into a defensive stance just in time.

Silus casually moved his head to the side, letting the shoe fly by him. He stopped a few feet short and stared at the woman.

"First you come after me, now you act like you don't want me near you. You're not still mad about me dragging you off that ledge are you?"

"You're not still mad about me pushing you off it first, are you?" I'm barefoot, but still alert and ready to chop him into bits, as per my instructions. I lunge forward, slashing at him, but guarding against a counterblow. He blocks, and I feint, but he blocks again.

Furious, I start gathering the Force again, parrying his lightsaber moves while I concentrate for another explosion.

Though the link that Silus had established early on was fading quickly, he could sense her distraction. He'd seen what she was capable of doing, and he didnt feel like finding out what she was brewing up now.

He moved in striking high twice, then low. Twice high, then low. On the third time in, he hit high, and instead of drawing back and striking, he pushed the block. Her anticipation of the second high strike left her slightly off balance, and now Silus had her backpeddling.

I step backwards, slightly rattled, and lose control of what I'd been trying to do. The ground just behind Silus explodes violently, the shock wave knocking him foward as I frantically defend from his attacks.