Shadows of Bankor

The avenue was broad and dusty and people were gathering around a trio of storm troopers and an Imperial commanding officer. Nearby were some local security officers watching the crowd as the officer addressed the crowd. It was another hot day in Rygor with only a slight warm breeze. One of the storm troopers had his thick boot on the back of some unfortunate local on the hardened road, the young woman squirmed from the discomfort of the baking ground and the thick boot on her back.

The crowd was a mix of reactions many were just here to see the spectacle, some seemed on the verge of anger while others seem to show understanding that this was just how things were if one tried to speak against the powers that be.

Captain Hrugos paced back and forth as he spoke in his deep voice, thick with the Core accent, “This degenerate scum should be an abject lesson of what will not be tolerated any longer on Bankor. Some of you seem to be laboring under the delusion that the laws of the Galactic Empire do not apply to you, that you have some kind of special dispensation for dissent.”

“I assure you, there is only one law here, only one true authority. That is the Galactic Empire,” he finished with an imperious look.

“Now this dissident did not act alone, so I shall give you loyal citizens to bring yourself forward or give me information that will lead to the apprehension of her peers. Failure to do so will only bring further reprisal and curtailing of rights until good order is reestablished,” the officer demanded.

The woman looked to be no more than fifteen or seventeen years of age, human with a look of the slums on her. She gritted her teeth and tried not to cry out but the discomfort and pain from the hot road and the boots were pushing her to the breaking point.

Mahon was here and he bit his tongue he didn;t know the girl but he suspected he knew the conditions she was under and chances are she was either just an innocent bystander or if she was involved then she knew next to nothing of the real movement. He glanced around lingering on Jin before he contemplated what could be done.

He removed a flask and took a drink, sometimes doing the right thing needed a little liquid courage.

Jin caught the look and nodded but held her people back for now, the last thing she needed was to start a riot. She glanced to Hrugos and frowned, the man was truly a brute and a bully and this wasn;t going to get the desired effect. She had to consider if that was the point and that the officer wanted an altercation, giving him more reason to lock things down and execute even more brutal crackdowns.

There were days she kind of hated her job.

It wasn't the first time he'd seen this sort of scene. And he knew it wouldn't be the last.

Petrus clenched his jaw, his hands clenching on his walking stick until the knuckles turned white. The girl clearly didn't know anything. And she was a girl; not an adult. Maybe he should... maybe he should...

Maybe I should get killed, just like my master, huh?

Petrus reached up, hand trying to pull forward a hood that wasn't there. Oh yeah, I don't wear robes anymore. He gave his head a little shake instead, his red hair brushing back from his eyes. He wavered, the struggle between the desire to act, and the desire to hide almost visible on his open features.

A cool gaze swept across the brute and his thugs. Behind yellow eyes came the thought that some beings lifted themselves above their baser natures. Others never even considered that was a possibility.

The Empire. It truly attracted the lowest of the low.

Xanna looked over towards the young woman, placing her hands on her hips as she studied the girl's features. This was one of her people. Well, that was how she saw it at least. The girl had been a visitor to the soup kitchen not two days before. She moved closer through the crowd towards the centre of the disturbance. What exactly had happened here? What was the girl supposed to have done?

Seeing someone confident, especially someone he vaguely recognized, made Petrus feel a little better. He took a breath, his shoulders rising and falling. There is no emotion, there is peace. But occasionally an awkward feeling in your gut, too.

Wearing an expression that was half wry smirk, half grimace, he moved his way through the crowd to the Pantoran. "If she's guilty of anything worse than jaywalking, I'll eat my, uh..." Petrus brushed a hand back through his (uncovered) hair. "Well, I'll eat someone's hat, anyway." Sarcasm in the face of oppression, that's the trick!

She was a good kid, she ran with a tough crowd but tried to do right when she could and even sometimes volunteered if she wasn’t always in need. A tough hand was dealt to her, parents who had nothing and then one skipped town leaving her basically alone since the other was usually dead drunk.

She locked eyes with Xanna and then closed them gritting her teeth and said loudly, “I don’t know nothin!”


Captain Hrugos crouched down and said, “So now you choose to spit lies? This ground is quite hot you know, I expect your skin will blister soon and then your face will be ruined and you will be a completely useless girl.”

Xanna's eyes locked with the girl's until she had closed them, at that point her yellow gaze fell on Petrus. She didn't smile at the joke but she cocked her head slightly. "Ah yes. You are Jenna's brother...Petey? Hello Petey." She looked around at their neighbours and raised her voice slightly.

"If it isn't too much trouble, can anyone explain exactly what law this young girl is supposed to have broken?"

"Petrus." He corrected softly. "Petey's my pirate name." He kept a straight face. Shoot, usually his jokes were better than this. He'd get a smile yet!

Of course, maybe it was the seriousness of the situation that kept the Pantoran from cracking a smile. Master always said my sense of humor would get me into trouble. And besides, when the Imperial spoke again, it wiped the smile off of Petrus' face. He briefly flashed back to the last time he'd gotten involved in something like this...

"Yeah!" He said, raising his voice, coming to stand next to Xanna in a supportive sort of way. It seemed like the best way to offer his support. Doing my Imperial Officer impersonation would probably be a hit for all the wrong reasons...

“My men spotted her and other refuse near unsightly dissident graffiti and when we approached they ran and she was apprehended. If she was innocent then why run, why, because she is obviously one of these gutter trash workin for the Resistance!” he said rising to his feet speaking to the woman.

“Her guilt is obvious.”

Jin was thankful that someone said something, of course she then frowned because it meant that the Imperial officer might try something stupid or vie versa and that might mean she still needs to intervene.

One eyebrow rose curiously as the human announced he was a Pirate. She didn't recall Jenna saying anything about that, although she had seemed worried about her brother. Perhaps that was why. Piracy was serious business carrying a heavy penalty, and for good reason. She lowered her voice a moment.

"Perhaps best to keep such things to oneself, Petrus. At least in the presence of The Law." A very small smile seemed to support the statement. The sort one might give to a wayward child.

She looked over at the girl and then tried to judge the mood of the crowd. It didn't really make that much sense to draw the attention of the Captain. But she couldn't just stand by. At last her gaze fell upon Serasi, and she raised an eyebrow before looking back at the officer.

"Perhaps if your proud enforcer of the Empire's will were to let the young girl up? Then we might all be able to see this obvious evidence. Graffiti requires, what, some sort of paint presumably?"

He frowned and said, “Get this gutter trash on her feet!”

The storm trooper complied and after a cursory glance there does not seem to be any paint on her or signs she was painting at all just dirt and some bruises on her face. The Captain sneered and said, “Obviously she threw the paint away!”

"Yeah, I..." Petrus blinked. "Wait, what? No, I'm not really..." He scratched his head awkwardly. Oh, man. This was going to be harder than he expected. Was he going to have to explain humor? Break out a laser pointer and do a presentation?

Maybe later. "Yeah." He said again. "Maybe she was just scared. I mean, she's just a kid, and some big guys were chasing her. I'm sure she'd have stopped and explained if she'd had time to realize who they were." Petrus was proud of how even he managed to keep his features while saying that.

Step 1: Get the girl off the baking ground. Check.

The Pantoran cocked her head slightly and raised a hand to her chin. She nodded as Petrus spoke but kept her gaze on the Captain. Sweetly she followed her acquaintance's suggestion with a few thoughts of her own.

"So, just to recap officer. This girl's crimes appear to include:", she counted them off on her long blue fingers, "standing near to some graffiti, being chased by some impressively burly men, and not carrying any paint."

Captain Hrugos narrowed his eyes in anger and then gestured for the storm trooper to release the girl and said, “Gutter trash, she will surely do something to earn a more severe punishment soon enough and I won’t be so merciful next time.”

The girl is shoved forward nearly falling but catches herself stumbling into the Pantoran.

The Imperial captain continued gesturing to the wall and the graffiti which seemed to be covering a wanted holo-poster and said, “This was an obvious ploy to obstruct justice and protect this dangerous terrorist! Citizens of the Empire this is the true face of evil, a Jedi from the superstitious order of fanatics and lunatics that nearly killed our beloved Emperor and tried to seize power in the name of their ridiculous religion!”

“If any of you know the whereabouts of this fiend you are honor-bound to bring such information directly to my office!”

He then leveled a devious grin on the duo and added, “Those with sympathies for dissidents should know that their days are numbered.”

Without thinking, Petrus stepped forward a little as Xanna caught the girl; his position making it clear that he was part of this. "Hey. You okay?" He asked softly, flashing her a quick smile.

But the Imperial still demanded their attention. Petrus' expression went quite thoroughly blank, affable but empty. If he'd had the Force power to vanish, or cloud minds, he would have done so. "Yeah, sure, I'll, uh, keep an eye out." He said. Nothing like talk about exterminating former members of the order you were a former member of to make you nervous.

His gaze drifted over to the poster, the blank smile turning into a thoughtful frown. "I'll keep an eye out." Petrus echoed himself softly, his thoughtful expression deepening.

"Its going to be fine." She whispered into the girl's ear as she caught her. Girl. She wasn't really that much younger than Xanna, but then she hadn't known war.

A lump rose in her throat when she saw the poster. Fortunately her demeanor did not change. She was the cool centre of the ocean. An ice flow. A... a really kriffing cold thing! Maybe she would break something later...

Her eyes met the Captain's. "Thank you for demonstrating your mercy today Captain. I am sure we have all learned some valuable lessons about Imperial justice." She looked around at the faces in the large crowd, some familiar.

The captain gestured to the crowd dismissively and said, “See that you do.”

He then approached the Pantoran woman and said, “I will be watching you, girl. Best not slip up, because if you do, I will make sure you suffer dearly for this indignity.”


Jin then interjected, “Alright Captain you have made your point, alright folks now clear out. Griggs get something to clear off this street art the rest of you make sure no one decides to act stupid. Captain, you have made your point.”

Once the Captain was out of sight the Commander Serasai said, “You got some stones on you Xanna, impressive. Stupid but impressive.” She then looked at the young woman and added in a more nurturing tone, “You gonna be okay kid?”

The girl nodded, “I’ll be fine.”

“Tough, here get yourself something to eat and tell your friends to keep to the slums till things cool down,” Jin finished handing the girl a credit chit.

The girl looked at Xanna and Petrus and said, “Thank you… I’m... Liua.”

Petrus exhaled slowly. He'd stood up to them... but not alone. Xanna had taken the lead, and it was only then that he'd been willing to stick his neck out. I'm just being cautious. That's good, right? The pit in his stomach eased, but didn't quite vanish.

He flashed Xanna another quick smile. "Yeah, I'm just gonna say impressive. Doing the right thing and all." He hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Thanks."

The smile grew gentler as he turned it on the girl. "Hey there, Liua. Nice to meet you. Uh..." Actually, there were probably better ways to meet someone. He cleared his throat. "I'm Petrus. How about we walk you home, huh?" His blue eyes flickered over to Xanna; he hadn't even thought about whether to include her or not; the we had been instinctive. His gaze was less certain as it flickered to Jin.

Liua muttered, "I don't have a home."

Undaunted, Petrus went on, still smiling. "Hey, no problem. You wanna crash at my place a night or two? My sister's out of town, so you could stay in her room." He might hesitate to stand up to Imperials, but not little acts of kindness.

On the other hand, possible a teen girl wouldn't want to stay with some strange guy. Smiling awkwardly, Petrus brushed a hand back through his red hair. "Or... maybe one of my neighbors. They're all women. Nice, too." How he'd ended up fairly literally surrounded by young women, Petrus didn't know. Padawan Petrus would probably have been amused. Laying low Petrus... added a touch of bemusement to that amusement.

Tilting his head, he looked at Xanna. "Or... you run some kind of staying... house... thing... right?"

Liua muttered, "I'll be fine."

Xanna kept her focus on the Captain until he finally left. At that point she let out a long breath and turned to the others. A slight hint of violet touched her cheeks at the, what, compliment?

"Stupid but impressive? It...is not the first time I have heard that." For a moment the white-haired human was a Devaronian woman. The image dissipated. She gave Petrus a nod.

"Thank you for your support Petrus. Someone had to step in, and this was only the beginning. You know that, don't you Commander Serasi? Beings like that 'Captain' are never satisfied."

With a sigh she returned her attention to the girl. "You can stay with me tonight Liua, and I will not take no for an answer. Tomorrow we can work out a more long term solution."

Jin agreed about the Captain, "Yeah I do, and the law is mostly on his side in these things. Which makes him doubly dangerous, but you did what was right."

She frowned and said, "Try to stay out of trouble, the storm's going to get worse before... if it ever gets better."

Liua looked to protest and then said, "Okay..." She then looked at the wanted poster and said, "So what's a Je-da... Jedy? Jee-di? They can't be worse than those sleemos, right?"