The Watchmen {Hax}

[Rugs]

Nar Shadaa was a very different world than any other Kvothe Algaterra had ever seen before. His homeworld, Aiaru, was a world that whose environments ranged wildly, from the massive ocean that covered most of one of the hemispheres to the extraordinarily dangerous desert that covered a portion of the world's main continent. Of course, Aiaru had a number of cities, all of them, beautiful, but they weren't quite the same as Nar Shadaa. So far, Kvothe had only made one stop since he'd been sent away for a time to escape some of the stresses that had been building up on him due to the growing conflict on Aiaru; that stop had been at Ruusan, where he'd met Alindra. It was a world that was similar to Aiaru in a number of ways, and one that Kvothe had quite liked, despite the little spat of trouble he'd gotten into with the Exchange.

But Nar Shadaa was a different thing entirely. The planet, which Kvothe noted was the moon of another world, Nal Hutta, was covered in a sprawling city, and there were more people packed into smaller stretches of space than Kvothe could ever recall seeing. Gone were the views of rolling plains, or mountains rising up above the horizon, or the ocean spreading out as far as the eye could see. Instead, all that rose around was made of metal and concrete. That was it. Metal and concrete stretching out endlessly in every direction. To be honest, Kvothe didn't really like it; but he'd come to look for things that might be off interest, and he was sure that he'd find something of the sort on this world.

For the time being, he sat in a small cantina, at a table in one of the corners by himself. He stuck out from the rest of the crowd there, with his loose robes and the two weapons he carried with him. As always when he wasn't in his armor, he wore a pair of simple leather boots and some gloves that cut off at the fingers. He was wary of bringing Fas along into this world, so he'd left the flickercat back on board the Masada for the time being.

Kvothe's eyes, which were their natural hazel for the time being, flicked over to the doorway when a group of rough-looking men ambled into the cantina. A few of them glanced over in his direction before turning to mutter something to the others.. That's my cue to leave. He took his staff from the place where it was leaning against the wall and left his money next to his unfinished drink as he started toward the exit.

He almost made it out of the door before they were on him. Their voices caught his attention, and he turned around, staff held ready as his irises shifted to become a deep orange. There were a good number of the thugs, now that he looked at them. They might be intimidating to a lesser man, but to Kvothe, they just seemed to be the ordinary run-of-the-mill muscle hired to do someone else's dirty work. One of them, a big balding man, cracked his knuckles and laughed in a way that Kvothe assumed was supposed to be threatening.

Kvothe made the first move, cutting the man's stomach with the blade on the end of his staff before he laid the man on the ground with a hard punch to the face that broke his nose. There were gasps from a number of uninvolved people, and all eyes turned to Kvothe, who was now surrounded by the thugs. But he stood still, calm and assured, with his staff held ready. "Come on," he said to them. "Let's go on and get this over with."

[Deleted]

The smooth purring of shuttle engines permeated the air on this particular section of Nar Shaddaa and everywhere the Pale Nagai man looked he saw helpless and destitute people. It seemed that those to weak to fight were cast aside and left to rot in the gutter. Unable to even become hired muscle for the numerous low end crime circuits that infested the moon wide city. Crimes were committed without hesitation. Even as Krae walked along heading for a local cantina an elderly woman was robbed and not a single person stepped in. Krae had his reservations about getting involved, he wasn't an acting soldier and this wasn't a Mandalorian planet. He had no authority to defend the people here.

Still, the blatant displays of cruelty were wearing on him and as he entered the cantina what he saw there thoroughly dissolved what restraint he had left. A number of large muscle bound thugs had surrounded a strangely attired man who seemed to be holding his own. Quietly he cast aside the Dark overcoat he had been wearing to reveal equally black cloths and two of his most prized possessions. Judgment and Retribution were strapped to his back and across his waist. The two blades were the physical forms of his soul as far as he was concerned. he had rules about wearing these tools of killing when not in his armor but given Nar Shaddaa's reputation he had felt it was prudent to break those rules.

"What kind of display is this?" Krae spoke up his voice carrying across the Cantina. "Are you all such cowards that you must attack a lone man in a group? well... why don't you all come over here and try that on me" There was a moment of silence as the men seemed to consider his request and then everything happened very quickly. First thing Krae noted was that he misjudged the origanal number of would be assailants. Still he smiled as a group broke off from the other man approached him.
"Gonna have to teach you some respect" one of the men boasted. "Yeah, no one messes with the Exchange" added another.
Krae smiled at the taunts which left his soon to be attackers somewhat disconcerted. "Teach me some respect? Please do... I've always found that I've lacked in respect, however... it will have to wait until we are finished here" With that Kraes smile grew into a wicked grin but this did not dissuade the men from attacking. The first punch was powerful but slow and Krae danced lightly out of the way laughing as he did so. "Man, if that had hit me... Well I would be even less pretty then I am now" the group of men stood around him once more still but this time more dumbfounded at his complete lack of fear. Well what are you waiting for? try again". Krae chided the man that had attempted to hit him.

The large thug unleashed a guttural snarl and threw another punch. This time rather then evade Krae redirected the blow and lashed out with a vicious counter attack striking the man six times in quick succession at various sensitive areas throughout his body. A slight pause and then he toppled over coughing. Now there was no hesitation. The others all leapt at him at the same time. A mistake it turned out. Krae was free to hit anyone and everyone but they were too busy trying not to hurt their comrades to really put up a fight. If his team had pulled such a stunt he would have killed them himself. Still, In less then fifteen seconds the last man was lying on the ground barley conscious with Krae sitting upon his chest. "you... you didn't even draw your swords" the man half mumbled. Krae paused in his observation of the other man groaning on the ground and glanced at the man upon which he sat "You're not worthy to die on my blade" the thug gave him a glassy eyed look before asking "What?" Krae frowned slightly and then responded. "My blades don't bathe in the blood of trash like you and your friends, sorry" The man made as if to speak once more but Krae covered his mouth. It was time to see how the other man was doing.

Without looking around Krae shouted "You there in the strange robes... how are you holding up?"

[Rugs]

Kvothe was dimly aware of someone else getting involved, but he was focused on the men that were trying to get at him to pay the other person any mind. But if they wanted to lend him a hand, he certainly wouldn't complain; not that he was too terribly worried about the threat the men posed, since the tables around him forced them to come at him in smaller numbers than they probably would have liked. He dealt with them quickly and efficiently, using the length of his staff to keep them from getting within range and then striking out at them one by one. A crack to the side of the head with his staff here, a blast of telekinetic energy there, the occasional unarmed strike to those that got too close; it was simple enough, and before too long, the last one fell to the ground.

A shout from another man got Kvothe's attention. He wiped the blood from the blade of his staff onto the shirt of one of the men that was on the ground before turning around to see who called him. It was a man in black clothes that contrasted sharply with his oddly pale skin. He was sitting on the chest of one of the thugs, and was, quite obviously, the one who'd lent a hand to Kvothe.

"I'm fine, stranger," Kvothe said as walked over to the man. He pulled a chair from one of the recently-abandoned tables and took a seat, laying his staff across his legs. "I am called Kvothe Algaterra," he continued with a nod. "I don't know what reason you might have had for helping me, but it is appreciated."

Kvothe's gaze shifted to the man that was on the ground under the pale man. He was still conscious, if only just barely. Kvothe cracked a few of his knuckles thoughtfully before turning back to look at the man that'd helped him out. "Did you, by chance, happen to hear anything of where these men came from or who they work for? If not, we could always drag a little bit of information out of him." A devious glint came to Kvothe's features for a moment. There could be little doubt what he meant by 'drag' the information out. He was starting to tire of people attacking him for no reason, and though he had a hunch as to who the men may have been working for, he needed to know for sure.

[Deleted]

Krae nodded at Kvothes assurance that he was fine. "Well, I couldn't let you have the lot of them now could I. No sport for me" Krae grinned at the robed man "Names Krae Svar, Nice to meet you" Still at rest upon the big mans chest Krae leaned back and observed Kvothes handiwork on the other side of the Cantina. "I like how you took advantage of the way the tables were set up but did you really need to kill any of them?" Krae asked as his eyes passed over the open wounds caused the blade on the butt of Kvothes staff "Eh, that's neither here nor there, just my way of thinking. These dogs don't deserve to die just yet" with that Krae shrugged and pondered Kvothes Question "Eh, one of em mumbled something about The Exchange right before I kicked his ass" Krae shrugged "Can't say that I really know what that is but it might be worth finding out yeah" Now Krae stood and leaned over hefting the large human thug he had been sitting on over his shoulder and heading for the door "Sorry bout the mess" he called to the awestruck bartender "I would stay and clean it up but me and this fellow here have business" and with that Krae exited the Cantina and headed for the first Dark alley he could find, which on Nar Shaddaa was not an uncommon thing.

With a slight huff of exertion Krae slammed the the large man he had been carrying against the wall. "Now listen here, wake up" Krae said while smacking the sides of the man head roughly to rouse him. Slowly the thug came out of his Daze and glanced around and slowly working out that he was trapped in an alley with the two man that had just worked over him and all his friends. "That's right, no ones coming to help you... at least, They had better not try" Krae grinned wickedly at the man. What's your name?" Krae asked still grinning. "Why do you need to know that?" the Grunt asked managing to muster some courage "Well... It wouldn't be much fun to die without a name now would it?" there was a pause before the man said "Cairn... my name is Cairn" Once more Krae smiled Well.. Cairn, I was nice enough to bring you out here so I could ask you a couple questions. Answer them for us and I might consider letting you live" For a moment Cairn just stared at Krae and then his eyes Narrowed "You already said you wouldn't draw your swords to kill me" Krae smile grew wider and a little laugh escaped his throat. Then he snatched a throwing knife off his right hip and held the blade in reversed grip to the big mans throat. I don't need my swords to kill you, hell I don't even need this knife... you know I'm already thinking you don't know anything. It might just be better to finish you and go back for one of your buddies, we can use your corpse to loosen their tongues a bit. What do you say Kvothe? Do you think this guy knows anything?"

Krae smiled at Cairn while the man realized his life hung in the balance. He was in the hands of the man he had tried to jump not ten minutes ago.

(Shorter then I thought it would be :/ Sorry about the powerplay, figured it would go smoother if Kvothe just came to the alley with Krae, if ya dun like it lemme know and I'll change it)

[Rugs]

{No prob, man}

Kvothe chuckled lightly at this new fellow, this Krae. He was certainly an interesting man, and, if his display against the thugs that tried to assault Kvothe a few moments ago was any indication, he was a skilled combatant. Kvothe nodded at Krae's compliment before turning his gaze back to the side of the cantina his part of the fight unfolded in. He shrugged dismissively before looking back at Krae. "Most of them will live, I'm sure. A new scar or two might remind them to be more wary in the future." A laugh came from within his chest, and for a moment, his youth showed through in a toothy grin that he gave Krae. "And, if they can't learn from the experience, I guess there's no helping them, is there?"

Kvothe's eyes narrowed dangerously at the man Krae was sitting on when Krae mentioned the Exchange, and a hint of red played at the edges of his hazel irises. So his suspicion had been right. He'd hoped that the events on Ruusan would be an isolated incident, and left behind when he left that world, but apparently, they were not. And how in the name of Merdumbledalf's beard did they find out he'd come to Nar Shadaa? Kvothe snorted and shook his head. It didn't matter. They knew he was here now, and they'd definitely know of what happened in the cantina, so it was probably safe to assume that more of them would be after him within the near future. That wasn't something he'd take lying down though. If they wanted a fight, they'd get one. Of course, the voice in his mind that was his common sense told him that he'd probably end up biting off more than he could chew if he tried to stand against the Exchange, but when had Kvothe ever listened to his common sense?

Movement from Krae pulled Kvothe from his thoughts, and his eyebrows lifted bit in surprise when he saw the other man standing up with the thug draped over his shoulders. Krae gave his apologies to the bartender and then moved to leave the cantina. Kvothe followed, deciding that Krae too believed that some information would need to be extracted from the thug. Krae led them into an alleyway and slammed the man into a wall before he started to interrogate him.

Cairn was the thug's name, and he was quite obviously cowed by Krae's display, to which Kvothe gave a small nod of approval. As a Sword of Diligence in the order of the Stellar Mythics, Kvothe spent a great deal of time tracking down and killing defectors, and as such, he had some experience with interrogations. There was a method that was popular with duos that did interrogations, where one of them would threaten, mock, and generally antagonize the suspect, while the other would take a more benevolent approach. Kvothe didn't know if that was what Krae was intending from the beginning, but he'd given Kvothe a chance to play the other side of that. Of course, Krae would have to trust him for this to work, since they obviously couldn't talk it over right in front of Cairn. Well, Kvothe could talk to Krae, using a certain talent his species possessed, but he didn't think the other man would be able to respond.

"Play along with me," said to Krae's mind, using his mind speaking talent so that Krae and only Krae could hear him. "I'm going to play the nice guy. Keep doing what you're doing."

"Oh, I don't know, Krae," Kvothe said calmly as he slowly walked toward Cairn. He put his hand up to Krae's arm and eased the knife away from Cairn's neck. "He might know something, but I don't think this the way to treat him. Don't you agree, Cairn?" The thug nodded emphatically when Kvothe looked at him. "I thought so. So here's how this is going to work. You might have information we need to know. My friend here obviously wants it, and is obviously willing to do what it takes to get it out. I, on the other hand, realize that being so rough is... well, morally questionable, I suppose you could say. You're a man, just like us, and you know fear and pain, like we do. And if we don't like it, why should we subject you to it? Make sense?" Cairn nodded slowly, as he wasn't quite sure if Kvothe was being serious.

"Excellent," Kvothe said cheerily as he took a step back. "See, Krae? All he needed was a little bit of kindness. He's not such a bad guy. hell, he probably only took part in that attack because he was forced to." Kvothe's eyes, which were now an amused green, turned to Cairn and he smiled warmly. "All we need to know is who sent you. And why. Tell us that much, and we'll let you go. Unharmed." For a moment, it looked like Cairn might say something, but he shook his head, and told them nothing. A muscle in Kvothe's jaw stood out as he clenched his teeth, and when he spoke again, a bit of the kindness was gone from his voice. "Look, Cairn, I'm trying to help you. If you don't answer me, I'll be forced to let Krae do whatever it takes to get these answers out of you. And let me tell you now, you don't want that. Krae's scary when he's angry, and you've already seen that he can beat you in a fight." He smirked amusedly for a moment before adding "Hell, he could probably beat me in a fight, so don't expect me to try to stop him if you don't cooperate with me."

Cairn's expression grew thoughtful for a few moments, but again, he shook his head. "I can't tell you," he said, fear evident in his voice. "There's gonna be trouble for me if I do that."

Kvothe sighed exasperatedly and took a few steps back, motioning for Krae to step up to bat. When he saw the color start to drain from Cairn's face, he shrugged, and only said "You can't say I didn't warn you."

[Deleted]

Only years of unexpected things happening to him gave Krae the fortitude to not jump when Kvothes rang inside his head. On the surface he didn't react at all. Just continued to lean against the wall with a lazy smile playing across his features. Underneath his mind was considering it. So Kvothe could speak directly to his mind? did that mean he could see what Krae was thinking right now? did the ability only work one way? you are an interesting man Kvothe Krae thought. If the man had heard his thoughts he gave no sign. Just continued with playing the nice guy. Krae had heard of this technique for extracting information. Not one he'd ever used himself but he was still fairly sure he knew what was going on.

Cairn had seemed on the edge of talking well this is going to be quick, I've hardly roughed him up at all yet Krae thought as he stepped forward. "Oh I don't know if I could beat you Kvothe, a tie perhaps? Krae smiled and winked at the other man before turning his attention back to Cairn. "You on the other hand I could beat so ugly your mother wouldn't be able to stand the sight of you and if you don't speak I'm liable to do just that."
Cairn sucked in his stomach as Krae leaned closer and spoke his voice shaking with fear "y-you can't scare me into talking, they'll do bad things to me if I-I-I talk"

Krae smiled at that Bad things? Like what? Cairn glanced at both ends of the alley as if he was expect help to arrive. Krae figure he should have known better then most that no one came to your rescue on this moon. "Well... I could kill you too... but I don't think I'll do that." For a moment Cairn's brown eyes met Kraes gray ones and in them Krae saw a glimmer of hope "Don't start thanking me yet... You would be surprised what you can live through with that Krae quickly snatched up Cairns hand and in a single deft motion broke the mans thumb.

The pop sound made when the bone left the joint was drowned out by Cairns scream. Krae punched him in the stomach and Cairn unable to handle both pains collapsed sliding down the wall. "You know... You're a lot tougher with your friends around" Krae chided before picking Cairn back up to his feet. Tears leaked out the big mans eyes and he cradled the hand with his injured appendage. "Now if your tongue hasn't loosened up any I'll remind I can do that nine more times... and you really won't like where I go from there"

Krae turned away from the downed man although he made sure to step out of reach before turning his back."So... you ready to talk yet?" Krae glanced over his shoulder a malicious grin on his face. Cairn cowered at the look on Kraes face but somehow his resolve still held. "They can do worse things to me"
Krae shook his head. "You know what Kovthe? I don't think we're getting anywhere with this one. How bout I just kill him... after breaking the rest of his fingers of course"
Krae turned back to Cairn "Sound better to you? I can just finish up with your hands and then slit your throat, leave you hear to bleed out in this alleyway"

Krae heaved an exasperated sigh"Here is what I'm going to do, I'll make you a deal. You tell my good friend everything you know about the people you work for and I'll stop mashing your hands... if you persist with this being afraid of everything I'm going to have no choice but to kill you" Not giving Cairn a chance to respond Krae stood and looked at Kvothe. "Pain just doesn't seem to work on this guy, but I don't want to offend your delicate Morales so I'll give you another go at him before I paint the alley red" Krae then returned to his spot leaning against the far wall and observed. It was too bad he had rushed it along like this, if Cairn didn't talk Krae was really going to have to kill him.

[Rugs]

It was a fortunate thing for Kvothe that Cairn lacked the knowledge of what eye color meant what, as the Rilan's eyes were a light, amused green when he stepped back up to talk to the large man. Should he have been amused? Probably not, but it was there, regardless. Still, though, he tried as best he could to at least appear sympathetic towards the big thug.

"See? I told you things would've been easier if you'd just helped me out." Kvothe gestured towards Krae with the hand that wasn't closed around his staff. "Krae here doesn't like to waste time. By not telling us what we need to know, you're wasting his time. He is also extremely harsh on people that try to attack him and then waste his time." Kvothe spread his hands out in front of him for a moment, palms up, as if suggesting the situation was beyond his control. "You've done both, unfortunately. But I'll make a deal with you."

Kvothe stepped in closer, and reached to gingerly take Cairn's broken hand, despite the larger man's whimpered pleas not to. "I have certain talents," he said just loud enough so that it might carry over to Krae. "If you tell us what we want to know, I can fix this thumb up for you so that it'll be like nothing ever happened." As a Rilan, he possessed a natural affinity for healing others, though he could do very little to heal his own wounds.

"And, if that's not enough, let me reiterate this point for you: I'm the only thing keeping Krae from cutting your throat out right now. I don't know if you've ever seen a real warrior before, but let me tell you, that man is one." That much was something Kvothe could tell without even knowing Krae that well. He'd grown up around men who'd be trained to fight for their entire lives, and he, in many ways, was such a man. Krae very much reminded him of some of the combat instructors back in the Tower. "If you don't cooperate with me this time, then there's nothing I can do to help you. So please, for your own sake, answer my questions."

He retreated back to where he'd been and fix Cairn with a steady gaze. "Also, remember, a few of your buddies are still alive in there. We could always just drag one of them out and do this again if you keep being obstinate." He shrugged dismissively. "Those are your choices Mr. Cairn: cooperate and go free, or resist and die. Your life is in your own hands from this point on."

A wave of emotions played out on Cairn's face as the wheels within that thick skull of his started to turn. Whatever he was imagining, it couldn't have been pleasant, as his face went from mildly disturbed to looking at Krae with open horror. Finally, though, he sagged back against the wall, with a look of complete helplessness. Kvothe almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"Fine, I'll tell you." Cairn spoke softly, and his voice wavered, but Kvothe didn't care. The big man could break down and cry for all he cared, as long as he got the information he was after. "Our boss is a Hutt. He-" Cairn suddenly looked up to the two men and looked at them suspiciously. "Hey, how do I know you aren't lying to me? You could just kill me after I tell you. I want a promise."

"On my blood's honor," Kvothe said in Rilan. He knew neither of the men there would understand the language, so he repeated it in Basic a moment later. It was a vow he'd learned from his father, and a serious one. He would not break it. "Though, know that if you lie to us, I'll find you and break you myself." He glanced to Krae. "Krae? What say you?"

[Deleted]

The lazy smile still in place Krae observed as Cairn finally broke. Still the man seemed to have his wits about him. The Pale Mandalorian chuckled a little at the man demanding the promise. "Shows a bit more brains then I thought you had" Krae said laughing but still he nodded "Here is how I'll do this, I'll give you a few hours to get off this moon and never come back. If I see you at any point on Nar Shaddaa after tomorrow I will kill you. You are to forget our names and our faces. If I hear you have spoken of either to anyone I will gouge out your eyes and cut out your tongue"

Cairn looked fearfully at Krae and remained silent and Krae frowned and shook his head. I promise not to kill you for the next day and never if you are not on this Moon. Happy now?" Cairn hesitated a moment and then nodded. "Alright, I work for a Hutt named Korintha. His base of operations is on the far side of the Red Light District. He deals in Death Sticks and Slaves mostly and I've heard he's not very good at either."

Krae puzzled over the information before asking "why did this Korintha send you and your buddies after my friend Kvothe here?" Cairn shook his head "I don't know, they don't tell us anything. We're just-" He started to add but Krae cut him off with a laugh "Wait, you accept missions without intel? How are you not dead yet? So he didn't tell you why he was after Kvothe then... Did he tell you what Kvothe was capable of or did he just tell you what he looked like?" Cairn remained silent and Krae smiled "I see, Look guy. It's bad for your health to attack someone you know nothing about and even worse to do it on orders." Krae shook his head and let his hard gray eyes settle on the big man before him "Your in the wrong line of work. Get out of here if you have nothing else to tell us, off this moon... out of Hutt space"

Cairn stared dumbfounded for a second. looks like he didn't think I'd keep my word Krae's grin grew as his amusement did but he simply stepped out of Cairns way. Slowly the big man slid along the wall keeping as much space between him and Krae as possible and then as soon as he was out of arms reach he turned and began to sprint down the alley way. Krae fought down the urge to shoot him in the back and settled for instead shouting after the man. "You're the only man to ever turn his back to me and live... That's a story for your grand children" Krae smiled back at Kvothe.

Pivoting slowly to face the other man Krae studied Kvothes tattooed face intently. "Looks like we got everything we came for. Might be best to get out of here before we draw anymore attention. Good as we are, we definitley stirred up that cantina and I'm not really in the mood to try and kill every thug on this forsaken moon. I'm kinda new around here so I was wondering if you had any place for us to hide out for a bit. Go over what we've learned and see what we can find out."

and perhaps I could learn a little more of you as well Kvothe Krae thought the smile on his face slowly fading to a slight grin. It wasn't everyday that he met someone he would truly consider on the same level as him and for some reason unknown to him he had begun to like Kvothe. Certainly the man was reliable and skillful. The only two Qualities Krae ever asked of anyone. Everything else was secondary to him. Best not to travel that road again Krae Svar
His conscience whispered at the back of his mine. Krae's face quickly became blank. He had long since forsaken any attachments to people. they were nothing but pain.

As soon as Krae called Kvothe friend then the man would fall just as the rest had, but for now Krae was alone on a moon where enemies lurked around every corner. Despite his pride he had to admit that even he couln't kill everyone.

"So how about it Kvothe?"

[Rugs]

Kvothe held a chuckle in as he watched Krae get the rest of the information they needed out of the big man. Things had certainly gone smoothly enough so far. In fact, Cairn was so eager to be gone that he left without asking Kvothe to heal his broken thumb. "Well, I guess we won't be seeing much of him again. Good work."

A few moments later, Krae suggested finding a place to hide out so that they could go over what information they had, as well as plan out what they'd need to do. "Aye, I have a ship not too far from here. We can plan there." He turned and started to walk off, motioning for Krae to follow.

Kvothe turned a hazel eye to look at Krae as the two moved off. They were of the same height, and Krae kept his black hair tied back in a ponytail, much like Kvothe's brother. The man moved with an easy grace that again served to remind Kvothe of some of his combat instructors back in the Tower. Truth be told, he was glad Krae'd decided to join him, for whatever reasons the man might have. Kvothe was powerful, yes, but he could not take on the task they were about to embark upon alone. Kvothe hadn't seen much of the man fighting, but he had the feeling that Krae was probably very good. I'd much rather have him on my side than against me.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

A little while later, the two were moving up the ramp onto the Masada, Kvothe's home away from home. "Welcome aboard," he said as they crossed the threshold into the ship. Krae might notice that, above all else, the ship had been designed for extended trips, much like the one Kvothe was currently embarked on. The interior was roomy, especially to only be occupied by one person, as it currently was, and the panels of the wall and floor were a neutral, pleasing color. Kvothe pressed some buttons on the little panel next to the entrance ramp to bring the ramp up and close the heavy metal door that sealed off the inside of the ship before leading Krae deeper in.

He took Krae to a moderately sized room toward the middle of the ship. A holoprojector hung from the ceiling, and there was a control stand for it off to the side of the room. There were a number of other various displays and such on a few of the walls, but for the time being, all of them were off. Kvothe set his weapons against a wall and motioned for Krae to take a seat before he sat down himself.

"Alright, so we know who's sending people after me now, and I think I know why. I was on Ruusan a short time ago, and while I was there, I bumped into a man in a crowd that had a datapad. The datapad fell and broke, and he was pissed off. I found out later, when he and some hired thugs tried to attack me, that he worked for the Exchange, and that datapad had some sort of weapon design on it. Supposedly based on or stolen from a Mandalorian design." Kvothe shrugged. "Whatever it was, I must have pissed them off by breaking it, if they're sending people after me like this."

Kvothe studied Krae a moment longer before speaking up again. "I just want to thank you again for your help back there. I guess you got yourself tangled up in this too when you fought those men, though." He laughed wryly. "Sorry about that."

[Deleted]

"Welcome Aboard" Kvothe said as the pair entered the ship. Krae nodded thanks for the welcome and began looking around ship. It was one of the best he had seen in all his years. Krae didn't actually own a ship anymore. it wasn't that he couldn't afford one. It was that he had that the last two vessels had met their end with his loved ones on board. He pushed the thought aside and continued looking over Kvothes ship seemingly more interested then he had been moments before. Idly he wondered if Kvothe had seen him pause for that moment as he had pondered the fate of his Wife and Daughter. He wondered if Kvothe could see what he had been thinking.

Silently Krae was led on to a larger area of the ship. The two sat and Kvothe explained why the exchange was hunting him, but before Krae could ask for details Kvothe surprised him somewhat by thanking him for his help back in the cantina. Krae lifted an eyebrow and a slight grin played across his face. "Ah well, I didn't have it in me to just stand there and look on. I mean it would have been hard to enjoy a drink in the midst of a bar fight. Not my kind of ambiance." Now Krae smiled in truth although it was all fake. He made facial expressions out of habit anymore. Nothing made him happy, only sad. There was no joy, only anger. The closest he came to happiness was moments like right now. When he felt a blissful nothing. Still, in the presence of this man he could feel those old emotions beginning to stir, and he didn't like it. In any case, it was out of his hands now. He couldn't help but start to like this man and he had no idea why.

"In any case, I'm in this now and to be honest I'm rather enjoying myself. It's been almost a month since I had any fun." Krae's flashed his perfect white teeth in a smile but his eyes remained cold and gray. Still, he put up his good natured facade. "Alright, so these guys are after you and we've done pissed 'em off some more tonight. So now I wonder what's the next step? My thoughts are this, I've been on this moon all of two hours and it already makes me sick. No law or honor. I've met Space Pirates he would go pale at what I've seen here."

Krae stood and began a slow walk back and forth pondering what could be done. This Exchange is some sort of Crime ring right? What do you know of it? He asked Kvothe but continued on before the man had a chance to respond "These crime lords are Business men really, they just deal in products that are illegal. I say that we cut the beasts legs out from under it, you know?" Krae was beggining to speak faster as he felt an idea forming. "Yeah that's it. We need to find out what this Korintha has his hands in... and then we need to steal it, stop it, crush it and, burn it" Krae turned to face Kvothe and realized that he had skipped the part where he asked Kvothe if he wanted to do any of this. that is... if you would be willing to lend me a hand." Krae was set now, If he had to go it alone then he would but now he was determined. He was going to bring the crime lords on this planet to their hypothetical knees no matter what.

(:/ not one of my best, sorry. Couldn't think of anything to write)

[Rugs]

"Right," Kvothe said with a nod. "We strike out at the Hutt's business first, and then, once we've got his attention, we might be able to pull him out and take him down." A quiet intensity came to Kvothe's eyes as the wheels within the young Rilan's mind started to turn. So, they knew what they needed to do, but they still needed to make a plan for how to go about it. His hazel eyes glanced up for a moment and met Krae's hard grey ones, and a fleeting thought passed through his mind. For his people, the eyes were a reflection of whatever one was feeling within. In fact, he'd been told by friends back on Aiaru that he had a terrible pazaak face. Grey eyes, such as the ones Krae had, were, generally, a sign of lifelessness or some form of despair. Kvothe found himself wondering, if only for a moment, if Krae's eyes--which he knew were locked to being one color--fit the Rilan interpretation. But, he knew such thoughts were foolish and pushed them aside.

"So, now that we have a plan of attack, it might be wise for us to seek out some more information, don't you think?" He leaned back to throw an arm over the back of his seat and started tapping idly on his thigh with his other hand. "I mean, we know the name of this Hutt, we know he's involved in some drug business, but that's about it. I say a little bit of investigative work might do us some good."

He suddenly stopped to glance over to one of the entrances into the area he and Krae occupied and smiled to see Fas striding in. Fas was a flickercat, and was about knee-high in height with a long, slender body that was packed with compact muscle that gave a strength that his small form belied. Of course, the most noticeable thing about Fas was the long, flexible tail that trailed for nearly nine and a half feet behind him. It, like the rest of Fas, was filled with muscle, and that made it quite powerful; if the flickercat wished it, he could knock a grown man to the ground with a powerful sweep of his tail. But that wasn't the most noticeable thing about Fas. His tail split into three ends about two thirds of the way up, and on each of those ends was a small bioluminescent light, topped off with an incredibly sharp barb. Those barbs could, if Fas willed it, punch through a man, even if he was in light armor.

But, luckily for Krae, Fas shared a bond with Kvothe, and though the flickercat was extremely protective of the Mythic, he made no aggressive moves toward the pale man. Instead, Fas laid down on the floor a few feet away from them, simply watching. "Fas, this is Krae. Krae, this is Fas," Kvothe said warmly. "Fas is my... companion, I guess you could say. He's friendly. If he hasn't done anything to you yet, you'll be fine." Kvothe laughed and turned around to face Krae fully once more.

"To get back to business, I think it might be good to see if we can find another person or two that might be interested in our particular brand of crazy, eh? Surely there's someone out else out on this damned moon who'd be interested." He shrugged. "Or maybe not. It might not hurt to keep our eyes open, though."

He stood up then, and extended a hand to Krae. "And I'm in this 'til the end, Krae Svar. So what do you say?"

[Deleted]

Krae went perfectly still as the large cat entered the room. Slowly he shifted around to face it and waited for Kvothe to react which he did in a most unexpected fashion. "Fas, this is Krae. Krae, this is Fas," Krae remained still observing Fas. He had grown up on Dxun and had an innate respect for such clearly dangerous animals. It was clear to him at this point that Fas was a pet of some sort. Still, as Krae turned to face Kvothe he kept Fas well within his line of sight and was resisted the urge to check his weapons. It wouldn't do to appear as if he was about to become hostile when he had no intentions of it.

"Pleased to meet you Fas" Krae greeted the Cat by name while meeting it's eye. Then he turned is attention back to Kvothe and focused on the matter of Korintha. Silently he listended as Kvothe speculated that they might look into finding others. Krae was hesitant on that front. Building a team was a tricky process and what little he knew of the Exchange told him that not everyone who got involved would be walking away from this venture. As long as we're not going to recruit a bunch of thugs I'm alright with it. I don't have any interest in the trash the Hutts employ" He paused before adding "and whatever happens remember not to promise them money. We will attract the wrong sort if we do that"

Krae doubted they would find anyone on Nar Shaddaa willing to help them. Anyone who might have wanted probably had the will to do so sapped from them years ago and anyone skilled enough to do so would already be in the employ of the Exchange. Krae couldn't see many of them jumping ship for a pair of vigilantes who weren't going to be offering pay. There was always the Jedi but if they were out this far they already had something to do.

"For now I say we take a break here on your ship, and then we hit the streets again and see what we can dig up on Korintha and this weapons design on the Datapad you broke. Find out why the Hutt wanted it so bad. I'm also thinking we should find out what Korintha deals in mostly. See if we can pinpoint a few of his operations. Then we shut them down. at the very least he won't be able to pay so much to have his little thugs hunt you down." Krae paused here and met Kvothes eyes waiting for his response.

[Rugs]

Kvothe's hazel eyes met Krae's cold grey as he nodded in agreement."You're right. Offering money for what we've got planned might draw the wrong attention, not that I'd planned on paying anyone to begin with." Oh, he certainly could; he'd left Aiaru with a rather respectable sum of credits. After all, he'd need money for his little galactic tour. "Even so, looking for others doesn't have to be our main priority. We can just keep our eyes open while we're trying to gather more information."

Kvothe nodded in satisfaction with what they'd come up with so far. "So, we'll head out to look for more info, and should we find anyone that might be willing to join our cause, we'll recruit them as we're able." The hint of an eager grin played at the corners of his mouth, and he held his right hand up, to make a fist. "And then we make the slug squirm. I like it. I think working with you will be a fine experience, Krae.

"Until then," he said as he broke his gaze to walk over to where Fas lay on the ground, "we can use the ship as a sort of base of operations. It might do us well to get some rest for the time being, before we set out with our searching, as you said. There are enough rooms aboard for five people, myself included, so feel free to make yourself at home, if you'd like."

He went down to a knee to scratch behind one of Fas ears, which got a satisfied purring from deep within the flickercat's throat. As he did, Kvothe looked up to Krae, studying the pale man for a moment. He noted, for the first time, that Krae reminded him a good deal of his older brother, Vorian. Well, physically, anyway. The features of his face were somewhat similar, as was the way he kept his jet black hair tied back in a ponytail, though Vorian was nowhere near as pale as Krae was. Good thing he doesn't act like Vorian, Kvothe mused. Else there might be problems. But Kvothe liked Krae well enough, where he hated his brother.

"So, if we're going to be working together, I guess it'd be good if we at least knew a little bit about each other, right? Tell me about yourself Krae. Where'd you learn to fight the way you do? You remind me a great deal of some of my combat instructors from my youth."