Buggy Seating (Mal)

[andas009]

It was the usual Coruscant night, and Clerix could already see the sign of the Star Night, one of his favorite Cafe's. Unfortunately, he was still on the opposite sidewalk, and had no intention of jumping across the massive divide between the two sidewalks. Sighing, he took the long way around to the small bridge that ran across the divide, nearly bumping into a person running carelessly across the bridge. He glanced back to see who it was, but the person was already gone in the cramped Coruscant street. Walking down the fresh duracrete sidewalk, he passed the usual beggars that were a staple of any Coruscant street, tossing a few credits as he went by. Clerix peered past the groups of people that were standing in front of the Cafe to see how busy it was. As per usual, it was nearly deserted at this hour, as it wasn't the most popular place, but he did enjoy the view of the skyline that if offered. 

The smell of fresh Caf already entered Clerix's nostrils as he continued farther down the road, passing more people heading back to their apartments or living quarters as he went. However, he did see an unfamiliar face in the cafe, someone that he did not know or see here before, which was quite surprising. Clerix had gone here for nearly two years, and he knew the waiter and cook very well, so he wondered who would be here at this hour, after all, the only reason Clerix was here was because of his strange sleeping patterns. Entering the cafe, he was going to order his usual, but figured he'd try something new, and ordered some fresh bread with a cup of stim tea. Heading out back on to the massive patio that overlooked the city skyline, he saw the stranger sitting a table not to far away, but was distracted by the waiter delivering his food before he was able to say something. 

For some reason this stranger intrigued Clerix, but he could see that the stranger had just got his food, so he decided not to bother him. Taking a bite out of the bread, he gazed out at the skyline and could almost see the Temple from here, but a high-rise building blocked his view. The millions of speeders zooming in and out with each other appeared as little dots to Clerix at this distance, and was amazed at how calm this night was for Coruscant. When he was finished, he noticed the stranger still eating, so decided to head over to the waiter to inquire about the stranger. 


So, who's the stranger? 

I don't know, first time I've seen him here. He seems friendly enough, but he didn't really talk much. 

Well, I'll go find out then. 

Walking over to the stranger, he took the seat closest to him, and after a few moments, decided to speak to him. 

I'm surprised to see anyone at this hour, what's your name?

[Mal]

Mal had been up late setting up the last of his needed arrangements to transfer to the reserves so he could work as a bodyguard for the junior Senator Irrina Icharus. The Army was being oddly supportive of him in this and making things far easier than he expected. Perhaps it was because he was moving into the private sector to protect a senator, or maybe they felt he'd earned it with his track record. Either way, it was proving easy and he was happy for it. Except for tonight, he'd been kept in the offices signing documents for hours and he was now to tired to go home and cook. So he had decided find somewhere to eat and get a good meal, after getting a suggestion from one of the lieutenants on duty he had chosen on this one, the Star Night. After he sat down he didn't even pay attention to what he ordered, and just ordered.

It turned out that he had ordered a bowl of Rycrit stew, a cheap and tasty meal courtesy of the Twi'lek race. He'd had it on a number of occasions and found it filling and to be much better than any military ration he'd ever had. And he enjoyed the bread that came with it, the ale was also good. He tried not to think about the fact that it was all mostly made from fermented fungi. Mal took his time eating the hearty meal, it was better than most anything he could cook. That was something he should probably change, after all he wouldn't be eating M.R.E.s on a daily basis anymore, so he actually needed to learn how to cook. Or he'd be eating out often enough to be on first name basis with the cooks and whoever took his order.

Mal was partway through his meal and just looking out the window when someone came to sit next to him, he didn't get a bad feeling from this person, so he didn't reach for the blaster at his hip. He did however sense that there was something different about him, a sidelong glance showed him an insect-like alien. He was unfamiliar with this particular species. Not that it mattered, as long as no harm intended to come to anyone in this cafe, everything would be fine. Though if the need arose, the blaster at his hip or the blaster hidden up his sleeve would be drawn at the drop of a pin. Hopefully only as a deterrent though. Then the alien spoke with what Mal assumed to be a male's voice, he seemed friendly enough. Mal looked over at him for a moment before speaking, "Mal Denton, a pleasure to meet you." Mal extended his hand politely afterward, a habit his father had made sure he developed.

After that was taken care of, he turned part of his attention back to his food before speaking again. "Been finishing up some work with the Army, moving to the reserves." Turning in his seat partway, he offered the other creature a smile, "And what about your name?"

[andas009]

Clerix saw the stranger's hand come out, but felt no harm. It was one of those human 'handshakes', so Clerix resisted the urge to feel the stranger's face, and just decided to rely on eyes this one time, and shook the Mal's hand. For once, Clerix debated whether to reveal himself as a Jedi immediately, but figured, since he's a Republic soldier that Mal wouldn't mind. 

"My name is Clerix, Clerix Ze-"

Before Clerix could finish, he was interrupted by the sound of blaster fire outside, and could sense people in pain. Sensing the gunman getting closer, he was able to motion for Mal to get down before blaster bolts streaked through the windows. Clerix was extremely confused as to what this man was doing or trying to accomplish, but he unclipped his lightsaber from his belt, pushing the center button. He heard the familiar hiss as the bright Yellow blade ignited. He began to run out, finding a crowd of people hiding inside the small Cafe, and a dark silhouette outside the shadow window facing the opposite way.

Running through the damaged doors, Clerix raised his lightsaber to block any bolts that would come toward him, but none came. He barely had time to sense the incoming vibroblade swipe that went right in front of his face, raising his lightsaber just in time. Clerix could feel the heat of his lightsaber as the man behind the vibroblade pushed it closer and closer to his face, until Clerix managed to kick him in the chest. The man stumbled backward, and Clerix charged and tackled the man, pinning his legs on all the man's arms.

To Clerix's surprise, the man slammed his head into Clerix head, hitting him in the eye. Although he could only see out of one eye, Clerix could sense the man advancing on him with his sword drawn, and someone else approaching the man at with something drawn, but couldn't tell what. As he saw the sword through his blurry vision being raised, he Force pushed the man back against a wall, and saw the man look at someone, before hearing a blaster fire and the gunman falling over, shot in the chest. 

Clerix managed to get himself up as his vision returned, and was amazed to see Mal was the one who had shot the man. Clerix began to walk over to Mal, but was interrupted by a security officer. 

Sir, if we could just ask you a few questions regarding this incident, it would be greatly appreciated. 

Sighing, Clerix began to answer the questions, and just knew he would be assigned this back at the Temple. 
 

    

[Mal]

Mal shook the other man's hand, and turned back to his food, though staying slightly turned to the alien so he wouldn't appear rude, and took another bite as a name began to be provided. Of course that was when everything took a turn for the worse. Mal didn't need to be signaled to duck, he did that on his own. He sensed the danger himself,and ducked at almost the same moment that he was told to duck. After that it was only a matter of seconds as everything began to unfold. Clerix drew and ignited a lightsaber and moved outside without wasting time. As the alien ran outside, his blaster was in his hand in seconds as he made his rounds, making sure no one in the cafe was hurt. After his confirmation he quickly followed after Clerix to ensure everything was fine.

Stepping outside Mal quickly took in the scene, years of military experience kicking in and allowing him to see everything at once. Clerix was fighting with the man, and he got headbutted. Moments later the man was thrown against the wall with what Mal knew to be the Force, as if the yellow bladed lightsaber hadn't been clue enough, this confirmed that Clerix was a Jedi. Or at least pretending to be one. Either way this alien hadn't caused harm to any innocent, while this vibroblade wielding lunatic had. Mal raised his blaster and left off a single stun shot, aimed right over the man's heart. The blue laser hit it's mark and the man fell limp, if Clerix hadn't been holding him to the wall in the first place, Mal would have simply killed him. As it stood there was no real reason for him to kill the man, no matter how much he may have wanted to.

Mal holstered his blaster and started to go check on Clerix before the security officer came and interrupted them. Questioning first Clerix and then Mal, who gave his side of the story and showed his Army ID to explain his military grade blaster pistol. Overall it didn't take long for the questions to be answered, and the thug to be carted away. Why was it nearly every time he was on one of the Core Worlds, trying to get a bite to eat and meeting new people, he was involved in some form of shootout or another? And always when he was off duty, never when he was surrounded by other soldiers. Though, this time at least, he was with a Jedi instead of a bounty hunter. He felt better knowing the other person on his side wasn't going to turn and gun him down for a price that may or may not be on his head.

After the security officer had left with the unconscious crazy man, Mal approached Clerix again, sizing the insectoid alien up a bit. "You alright Jedi Clerix?" He decided to go with a less subtle route of confirming whether or not his new friend was a Jedi. It didn't matter to him one way or the other if the alien was a Jedi or not, as long as he was a good person he didn't care about anything else. While the Jedi answered, Mal absentmindedly traced a finger down the cross shaped scar on his right cheek. Nodding after finding out the man was alright, he smiled, "Man, I'd love to learn how to do that." He muttered, his eyes moving to where the man had been held against the wall with the Force. His mind moving over his own Force sensitivity and the fact that he had no control over it. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand, looking back to Clerix.

[andas009]

When he was finally done with questioning, Clerix noticed Mal walking over, and asking him if he was alright. 

"I am alright Mal, thank you for asking." 

Before Clerix could speak any longer, the buzz of his holo-comm sounded. Sighing, Clerix clicked on the 'answer' button, but was surprised when no video appeared. Even without the video, Clerix could hear the familiar voice of the coordinator sounding in his ears. 

"Clerix, I need you to look into this immediately. Although we think that this may be a random attack, it also fits into a string of recent attacks recently, so we want to see if this is related to the other attacks at all. You may want to bring along someone if you wish, but most of our Knights are already investigating these attacks already. We already scanned this man, Giji Lininan, who's apartment is number 1247 in Section A, Floor 1876 of the Central Apartment Tower, so you may want to start there. I wish you luck, and will update with further details once these come available." 

Clerix heard a fizzle, and the line cut off. Clerix clipped the holo-comm to his belt, and tried to remember anything about the other recent attacks, but couldn't. He rubbed his right eye, still a little sore and blurry from the hit, and turned back towards Mal. Clerix could sense something faint within Mal, and wondered for a split second if he was perhaps Force Sensitive. As Clerix mulled over the thought, he decided he was in no place to determine this, but decided it would be a good idea if Mal joined him on the investigation. 

"Well Mal, it seems as if I've been chosen to lead this investigation, so that gives me the honor of choosing a 'team'. Would you be up for it? I could use the help, and this may even be considered protecting your Senator." 


    

[Mal]

Mal was relieved that Clerix hadn't been seriously hurt, but neither had any time to continue the conversation before Clerix received a communication. Mal remained quiet and still while the other man was busy. Despite his growing urge to sit down draw his blaster and start cleaning it, he'd had it drilled into his head time and time again. You can fight in damaged armor, you can fight without intelligence, but you can't fight with a dirty weapon. At any second it could give out and blow up in your hand, though he knew his own weapon would not blow up in his hand. He took far too much care of it, and had even modified it heavily himself. He was hard pressed to find a pistol that was much better than his own, at least fresh off the line. There were probably others that had modified their weapons better than he was able to do.

Then Clerix was off the holo-comm and offering him a chance to join him in the investigation. He wouldn't only be protecting the senator, he'd be helping the entire planet by helping to remove any and all of these vermin. Besides, he'd offer to help even if it wasn't part of his job to protect Irrina. It was basic decency that demanded he help out in anyway he could, so in form of response he nodded and held up one hand signaling that he needed a moment. Rushing into the cafe he paid for his meal and returned to Clerix a moment later pulling a backpack onto his shoulder and shoveling his meal into his mouth quickly. After he finished his meal and threw away the carryout container, he looked back to Clerix and smiled. "I'm in, where do we start?" He was glad that he'd brought his backpack and cleared out his locker today after all, he had 'acquired' a few things that he foresaw being useful while he was working for Irrina. Might even be useful right now.

Mal adjusted the pack on his back forcing it to shift into place, then started after Clerix once he started moving. His pace easily matching the other man's as he stepped to Clerix's side and grew silent, letting the Jedi lead the way as he mulled the situation over in his mind. He was trying to come up with some way to deal with everyone without having to kill them, though having a Jedi with a lightsaber drawn nearby was probably enough to deter most men. He'd rarely met someone who was able to stand up to the power of the Force and come out in once piece. He'd gotten lucky when he received the scar on his cheek from the lightsaber blade. He'd been far too lucky, and he knew it all to well. Luck wouldn't always be on his side after all, he'd need to be skilled and stronger before he came across another Force user on the battlefield.

Mal cast a glance over at his new friend, "So how do you want to do this? I'll admit my investigative skills are somewhat lacking. I've been a soldier for ten years now, but I'm intelligent. I can figure out a puzzle, and I have your back." He stated, his head moving to look forward again, and his eyes taking in every person on the street as fast as he could. An old habit he had formed and one he wasn't about to break. He learned after his last encounter with the Sith, people are rarely what they appeared to be. Even he wasn't, he had the bearing of the military it was obvious in the way he moved and spoke, but he was also a mechanic. He enjoyed to build and repair things. That did require a certain attention to detail.

[andas009]

Clerix was shocked when Mal ran back into the Cafe and paid for his meal, then proceeded to shove it into his mouth.



Don't worry Mal, I am sure I will be able to find some use for you. Just having someone along to make sure I don't get attacked from behind in the apartment is a comfort, and your skills could be used.


As they continued walking, Clerix began to notice the decaying sidewalk as they descended deeper into Coruscant, and how it was becoming dim real fast. He noticed a strange Octagonal symbol painted on an old building wall, with a few people around it, giving him a look. Although he did feel slightly vulnerable around here, he was not worried, as he knew he could sense anyone coming at him. 

Finally, Clerix could see the eroding apartment complex, and it was clear to him that this place was either abandoned or in extreme disrepair. As he continued to get closer to the complex, he noticed a crowd of people heading back to their shoddy and nearly destroyed rooms. Clerix found it funny that, just a few floors up, certain Senators lived in completely opposite conditions, and he wondered if they ever have seen this, or simply turned a blind eye. Either way, Clerix was not here for that, and he continued to walk through the shot out and chipped glass doors. Walking up to the Twi'lek at the front desk, he asked, 

I need access to Apartment number 1247, investigative reasons. 

Clerix did notice a look of doubt on the Twi'lek's face, but Clerix simply unhooked his lightsaber and placed it on the desk, and the Twi'lek gave him a copy of the keycard. Hoping that it would work, Clerix walked up the decaying stairs to the room, and swiped the card. As he walked in, he sensed no living thing, and the room was a complete mess. He immediately asked Mal to look around for things in the main room, while Clerix checked out the bedroom. What he noticed as soon as he rounded the corner was the massive Octagonal shape on a neatly woven flag, nearly identical to the one he found in the street. After thoroughly searching the room, he could not find anything of use, and walked back into the main room to tell Mal about the symbol, and to see if Mal had found anything. 

[Mal]

Mal walked with Clerix lost partly in thought, that is until they started getting into some of the lower sections. His hand surreptitiously reached down and gripped the pistol at his hip, he was ready to draw at a moments notice. He even double checked to make sure it was still set to stun for the moment, he'd change the setting later if he needed to. His eyes gazed around at each person they passed, taking in any threat that they may present. Fortunately none of them stepped forward to start anything. That was a huge relief right there, he'd rather avoid another fight tonight. Or, avoid any fight ever again, but he doubted he was that lucky. Soon enough they were inside the building, then after a brief conversation with the attendant they were in the room that they needed.

Clerix went to search the rest of the apartment, leaving Mal in the living room to search. Gazing around the room he only had to ask himself one question, if he were hiding something, where would he hide it? His eyes narrowed as he gazed at the furniture, what he needed was to find what was out of place. Drawers, and anywhere in the kitchen were too obvious to hide anything. That was often the first place searched, likewise the cushions and padding in the couch was too obvious. It would be known the moment that someone sat on the couch that something was hidden in it. However he had an idea, someplace that he would hide anything that needed hiding. Walking to the couch he lifted it and planted it firmly on it's back, looking at the floor that had been under it. The floor was too clean, he'd never met anyone that moved a couch just so they could clean under it.

Clerix came back into the room then, and Mal motioned at the floor. "Too clean for under a couch don't you think?" He asked before knelling down and examining it closer for a moment, before he pulled the carpet back and revealed a hidden safe. Raising an eyebrow he turned and looked up at Clerix. "Well, lookie at what I found. I'm willing to bet that there's something that he doesn't want found in here." Mal didn't know anything about safe cracking, so he simply stood and took a step back. Besides, he wasn't a Jedi or a cop, he didn't want to ruin the integrity of the case against this man by offering a shadow of a doubt because an unknown third party was involved.

Mal considered it for a few seconds, what kind of a person had a hidden safe like this? The same kind of man that was a part of a string of attacks through Coruscant? And the weapons, he'd heard a blaster but he'd been wielding a vibrosword. Granted he hadn't been looking for it, but he hadn't seen a blaster around him after the attack had been stopped. It didn't feel right, there had to be more to it all than this. Some piece that he wasn't seeing, something that would only click into place after it had become obvious. In any case he'd have to be on his guard for the time being. It wasn't anything too new for him in any case, he'd had to stay on guard while he was on the battlefield, that was a trait that was impossible to get rid of. He knew he didn't have much to worry about with a Jedi standing feet from him, but it never hurt to be ready.

[andas009]

As Clerix walked over to Mal, he too noticed the safe. When Mal stepped back and allowed Clerix to try and crack the safe, he ran over thoughts on how to accomplish this in his head. Deciding it would be best to simply slice open the door, he unclipped his lightsaber and ignited it. Stabbing the left side of the safe door, he slowly began to cut the outline of the door. A few moments later, the door was sliced clean off it's lock, and Clerix pulled it out of the way, de-activating his lightsaber in the process. Much to his disappointment, all Clerix could see was a small datapad, which he quickly grabbed. Skimming through it's contents, something stuck out, a file called 'Important Contacts'. Placing his finger on the icon, it revealed two separate locations, but unfortunately, no names. 

"Quite a nice find Mal, if I do say so myself. I think, perhaps we should pay these locations a little visit, and I also found something interesting. There was a large orange flag hanging over this man's bed, with a nearly identical symbol to the one I saw on our way here. I think it's a connection, perhaps some kind of organization, but our answer will probably come in time. As for now, we should probably try the first location, which is the Sapphire, one of those new luxury hotels. I don't know who this will lead us to, but maybe he could reveal some very critical details for our destination. Even better, we could even grab some shuteye while there, provided nothing happens."

With that, Clerix headed out the door and attempted to locate the nearest taxi station. When he realized that there wasn't going to be any in this area, he sighed and began the long walk back up towards the surface. He was shocked that the once bustling area was completely deserted, and started to scan the area, watching for any movement. Clerix sensed something, a person, in the nearby shadows, waiting for something. He motioned for Mal to get ready, and Clerix ignited the bright Yellow Lightsaber in his hands. Clerix heard the sound of a Blaster being shot nearby, and sensed the bolts. Reacting quickly, he blocked the bolts and the source was quickly revealed. 

A man, clad in similar armor as the gunman, up on a nearby catwalk, Rifle in hand. He noticed Mal behind some cover, and ran as fast as he could towards the cover, feeling the heat of the blaster bolts behind him. Sliding into cover next to Mal, he decided he would see how Mal acted under fire, and let him take on the man. 

[Mal]

Mal watched as the yellow blade sliced open the safe and removed the datapad, if that was in there, then he had no doubt that it was valuable. After a few seconds of the Jedi examining it, he found out that it had locations on it. Add to that the same symbol appearing in both the apartment and on the street, well it was looking good for the investigation. A luxury hotel? He wasn't going to complain about some shut eye that was for sure, and if it was in a luxury hotel, he most likely not going to be paying. "Well, I'll join ya in that. But I can't pay if you're looking for someone too." He stated the last part as a joke, flashing a smile as he did. Though he was still partly serious about it, he wasn't about to pay for a luxury hotel. That would eat more into his savings than he cared to admit at the moment.

Mal followed Clerix out of the door and down the street, he was immediately on edge by how empty it was. This wasn't right, even this late there should still be people here, lots of them. Even before the Jedi warned him to be read his hand was on his pistol, after the Jedi confirmed his suspicions however, he drew his pistol. He could agree that something didn't feel right, he didn't even sense anything from the Force. This one was simply his own intuition, or at least that's what he thought. However he did sense the blaster shots a split second before they fired, and he was gone from where he had been. Instead he was now crouched behind a speeder, looking up to where he thought the shots came from. Well, now they had to deal with a sniper. This was the last time he went out to eat late at night.

Mal was joined moments later by Clerix, however he wasn't fully paying attention to Clerix. He was already working out how to get rid of this man. A plan formed in his mind and he started piecing it together, switching his blaster from stun back to lethal. His eyes roamed around quickly, taking in the surroundings by the shooter. He had a plan, he just needed to move him slightly to be positive it would work. Standing from his cover, he fired three quick shots, at just the perfect time and angle to cause him to sidestep instead of duck. With that taken care of his fourth shot took out the light by the shooter, causing it to erupt in sparks. His fifth and final shot hit the shooter square in the chest, causing him to fall over the edge and onto the duracrete under where he had been shooting from.

However Mal didn't relax, instead he kept his weapon aimed at the man and quickly crossed to him. There weren't any other attackers nearby, he could sense it. Pausing over the shooter he kicked his blaster farther away before holding his position above the man, aiming at his back just over his heart. "If you're still alive, slowly roll over and place your hands above your head. If you make one wrong move I will end you." He stated simply, the tone of his voice showing that he wasn't kidding. He had little doubt that the man was dead, but he would rather ere on the side of caution. He slowly lowered himself and rolled the man over, revealing a pale white haired man with silvery blue eyes. Mal guessed he was at least part Echani, only after feeling for a pulse and finding none did he holster his pistol. He closed the man's eyes respectfully after a brief moment before stepping back and looking at Clerix.

[andas009]

Clerix was pleased that Mal had handled the situation the way he did, staying calm and finding a quick and simple solution. As Mal walked over to check the body, Clerix wondered if Mal actually knew about his Force Sensitivity, and whether he should question him about it or not. Deciding it would be best to wait until they were in a calmer environment, his focus shifted back to the situation at hand. Clerix was quite surprised it was an Echani, although he should have figured due to the intense Melee fight that the original gunman gave him earlier that night. If this was a group of Echani, he would have to take more precaution, as Echani combat skills were nothing to laugh about. 

"Perhaps this is some sort of Echani terrorist group? I honestly would not expect something like this from Echani, so they must have a reason of some sort. Hopefully, these 'contacts' should give us the answer, or lead us to one. Follow me, and keep your guard up, there may be more."

As Clerix continued the walk towards the beautifully lit surface, he could faintly make out the luxury hotel's top floors. The quality of the sidewalks was gradually increasing with every step, and he was very thankful, as he no longer had to watch his step as much. Clerix took in a deep breath as they reached the surface level, and the welcoming smell of the many restaurants and shops filled his nostrils, and he felt glad to be back to where he felt most at home. Clerix was relieved when he managed to find an air-taxi station, and he quickly summoned one. The interior was in poorer condition than the most, but it felt good for him to just sit for a few minutes and rest. 

After giving the destination to the driver, he settled in for the short ride, savoring every moment and fighting the urge to nod off. Sooner than he expected, the driver made the announcement, and Clerix and Mal quickly exited the cab. The hotel was truly sublime from the front angle, and a wonderfully textured interior could be seen through the front doors, but Clerix slowly began to remember he was here on a mission, not a visit. Walking up to the counter, he was greeted by a young Human male in his twenties, who plainly asked if they wanted a room. Clerix replied 'yes', and threw down the Six-hundred and forty-four credits that it cost, but also requested information. 

I would like to know if you have seen any Echani recently, perhaps a little on the rough side? Investigative purposes. 

Yes, there is one in Room Number 28872, on the Twentieth floor. He has been here for the past few days, almost as if he is waiting for something. 

Pleased, he headed into a nearby elevator and clicked on the '20' button, and they began the ride up. 

Mal, get ready, I want to nab this guy before we can get some rest. I do not want him slipping by us, this is our best lead and I have a strange feeling this is going to end in bloodshed. So I want to make it his, not ours. 

[Mal]

Mal thought about it for a few moments, then shook his head. "No, I don't think this is an Echani terrorist group. The Echani wouldn't do this, and if they did we wouldn't have been able to defeat them that easily. They're a smart culture, and more deadly than anyone else I have ever met." He considered it more as they got into the cab, then raised the divider so they could talk. At the same time he drew his pistol again and field stripped it before he started cleaning it. "But the Echani are a kind people, they communicate through combat but they wouldn't do this. I think this is a group wanting to blame the Echani, they're well trained, probably in the Echani martail art."

Mal then deftly put the pistol back together activated the safety and holstered it. It wasn't long before they were at the hotel and on the move again, too bad, all Mal wanted to do right now was to crawl into bed and sleep for a few hours. He'd even welcome a military cot, which were notoriously uncomfortable and required three times the padding to sleep on comfortably. He knew he was tired when he was dreaming of sleeping on a cot, a quick shake of his head and his mind was clear again. He was focused and ready for just about anything the Jedi could throw at him now. Or at least he thought he was, in any case he'd be ready to face whatever they were going towards at the moment.

Mal nodded as they rode the elevator up, "Yeah I gotcha, just know that we're gonna need to catch some rack sometime this week." He stated as he drew his blaster again, before taking a breath and collecting himself. It felt like he was back in the Army all of the sudden. This was where Mal shined though, he could kick in doors all day and all night and probably come out without a scratch on him or his team. He had the Force at his back after all, as long as he trusted the feelings he got from it he'd be fine. Or so he hoped anyway. In any case he had no particular bad feeling about this situation, so he wasn't overly worried about getting too terribly hurt while he was here. And if he did, well, he'd be rethinking his gut feelings a bit.

Mal stepped out into the hallway the moment the doors opened, his blaster drawn and held at his side. Soon enough they were at the door, and Mal was ready to enter. He held up three fingers, then lowered one, then the second. Instead of lowering the third he opened the door and burst in, taking aim and shouting. "Republic Army stand down and place your hands above your head!" It was times like these he reminded himself that he really needed to go get himself a coat made from armorweave, or something similar, to protect him from blasters.

[andas009]

Clerix was pleased at Mal's readiness for the situation, but quickly focused on the combat that would inevitably ensue when the grey durasteel doors slid open. Clerix gripped the familiar lightsaber hilt in his hand, and was greeted by a hiss and the lovely yellow blade produced from it.

When Mal slammed the door open, Clerix sensed a sudden burst of energy heading straight for Mal, and jumped up in front to block it, producing a distinct hiss as the blaster bolt made contact with the lightsaber. The shot had come from a Human male, probably around his 30s, standing in front of the massive glass windows overlooking the Coruscant skyline. Judging from the apartment's relatively fancy interior, the man obviously either had wealthy contractors or was the source of this assumed wealth. The man was holding a pistol, and had a look of distress on his face.

Before he could fire again, Clerix reached out and pushed the man to the floor and leaped over to disarm him. Although the man attempted to resist with in hand to hand combat it was futile. After a few grunts and groans from the man, Clerix managed to grab the pistol with his hands while holding down the man with his legs. Taking the pistol, he threw it to the other side of the room towards Mal for safekeeping. 

You may as well give up and tell us everything we need to know. While I may not believe in killing you, that might not apply to my friend right over there. So, what's the story?

Clerix stated in an assertive voice. The man still seemed adamant on keeping quiet, so Clerix picked him up and marched him over to Mal, lightsaber at the ready. 


Here, maybe you can get this man to talk. 

[Mal]

Mal stepped out into the room, and sensed the danger a split second too late. He moved, or started to rather, but he wasn't moving fast enough to dodge a blaster bolt. This was going to be it, the end of his life before he even had the time to learn how to use the mysterious Force he'd recently learned that he had the ability to wield. How was his father going to cope with violently losing both his wife and his son? Well at least he wouldn't have to worry about it for long, right? A blaster bolt should be a fairly quick death, that is if he got hit in a place that would kill him. Knowing his luck he'd just take the blast in the shoulder or something, need to get some prosthetics implanted to keep himself moving. That wouldn't be too bad really, right? He'd be a cyborg technically then, that'd be kinda cool.

The next thing Mal knew, Clerix was in front of him, the blaster bolt was sent off somewhere harmless. Well at least he wasn't going to die, right? He pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the now, and Clerix had everything handled. The Jedi pinned the man who had fired, and tossed the pistol in Mal's direction. Perfect reflexes reached out and caught the pistol as if it had been moving in slow motion. That was something that he had never understood, reflexes like that had always been something that he hadn't understood. Now he kind of did, but he couldn't use them whenever he wanted to. He only knew that they usually showed up when he needed them too, he guessed he was still riding the high from almost dying and as such still had the reflexes. But he wasn't sure if the Force worked that way.

The soldier holstered his own pistol, and then hefted the pistol their prisoner had been wielding. "Oh ho! Look at this here, this weapon is illegally modified. I'd wager that if I had been wearing my armor and gotten hit with it, I'd have felt it. Probably have a nice burn, maybe a bit more." It wasn't quite to military standard, but it was close. Closer than most other weapons he'd found. Still, he hadn't liked being shot at, so he was going to make sure that this was over quickly. And hopefully none lethally if he could manage it. "Not bad though, a tad clunky and without much finesse, but a decent weapon." Of course that gave Mal a bad idea, an idea that would probably work perfectly with that Clerix had in mind.

Mal grabbed the man's coat, aiming his new pistol at the man's knee. "Oh, I'm sure I can get him to talk Jedi Clerix." He pressed the barrel of the pistol to the man's knee and smiled a grim smile. "See, we have this... skill in the military. It's a learned skill. We can make people talk." And then he fired a single shot, he missed of course, on purpose. Looking down at the blaster, and the hole in the man's pants, he let out a loud sigh. "See, this is why I hate using weapons that aren't mine. So uncooperative. Won't miss next time though." Mal pressed the blaster into the man's gut this time, "I've got a bigger target this time."

The soldier pressed the blaster into the man's gut, making it very clear that he wouldn't miss again. The blast wouldn't kill him if Mal fired, but it would put him in a lot of pain for a very long time. Which was something that Mal would like to avoid if at all possible. "Now, you're going to answer my friend's questions, or I'm going to kill you. Painfully. Over the course of hours, maybe a standard day." Mal turned the man toward Clerix, urging him to start speaking with another prod from his blaster. If this didn't work, Mal might actually have to do something dirty, he didn't like that idea. So he urged the man silently to talk, hoping that he would just spill everything he knew.