August 01, 2009

491. Flight of the Decoy - Trychon

Kal led them to his airspeeder off to the side of the landing. There was a man of large build waiting there, leaning on the front bumper. As they approached, the man unceremoniously got into the driver's seat and waited for the rest of the group to get inside after loading their bags in the rear.

Their trip was a rather short one to a small building in what appeared to be a remote commercial district. Nobody spoke along the way. Tyrrazapon took in the sights, bringing back memories of some of his earlier adventures in this very city. He recognized the area, but it wasn't where Kal's outfit used to operate out of and it seemed to be a bit of an upgrade. He saw the sign out front of the building they were about to land on, and wondered if Van-Dohr shipping was as legitimate as the sign out front made it appear. He decided that it was more likely all an act.

Anya watched their surroundings with a bit of awe. She'd never been in a city like this one, and she wondered to herself if they would have any time to look around. She doubted it, but couldn't help but hope.

Kal watched the two of them and allowed them their thoughts. It had been some time since he'd heard from Tyrrazapon, and given the circumstances certainly couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch up with him. Still, he caught himself looking at his old friend's new companion a bit more. She didn't notice his gaze, which suited him fine even if he somewhat hoped she would.

They all exited the vehicle, and Kal grabbed Anya's bag after handing Tyrrazapon's to the driver. He gestured towards the stairs and led them into the building. It was rather plain in general, but with enough room for any decent size operation to work out of.

"So you're doing pretty well for yourself, aren't you Kal?" Tyrrazapon opened the conversation.

"I do alright, though to be honest it hasn't been so easy lately. Republic's tightening their grip every year out here. Still, we manage." He flashed a grin at Anya. "So what have you been up to since you dropped in last? Ever call that girl back? Kingsdoom?"

Tyrrazapon paused. "No. Hope she's alright. I wonder sometimes if she's mad at me. Anya and I have been mainly shifting around, trying to stay out of everyone's way. Look for a bit of work here and there, but you're the first of the old group I've run across. It's good to see you."

Kal and the driver stopped and set down the luggage outside a couple of doors that must have been sleeping quarters. "Here we are. I'd love to finish catching up and getting to know your friend, Tyr... but it's very early morning for us here, and I need to be ready to get business done before too long. There's food in the cafeteria down the hall if you feel like cooking something up. If you need anything else, ask in the morning." He smiled before shaking hands with both Anya and Tyrrazapon and heading off to his own room.

The two Sith apprentices grabbed their things and situated themselves. Their rooms were decent enough sized, with a pull away wall between them. After opening the wall up, Tyrrazapon decided it was just enough room for them to have a quick duel to stretch out a bit before grabbing a bite and then resting.

The practice duel was going as it normally did for them. Tyrrazapon held a slight advantage but held himself back from pushing Anya too hard, preferring to keep it as a fairly close match. Occasionally, he couldn't keep himself from giving her little Force nudges when she left a gap open that he chose not to exploit. He smiled a little each time, and Anya growled in response. She still struggled to manage more than the tiniest bit of telekinesis with her abilities, and Tyrrazapon knew it was a sore spot. He never pushed her much through the Force, since she struggled just as much with Force defenses.

Her frustration began to show more and more, until Tyrrazapon decided that he was getting hungry and was about ready to finish up by landing or nearly landing what would normally be a fatal hit. He gave her a strong Force jab in her ribs, and she bent to the side in response.

He was about to bring his blade down on the side of her neck when a lamp went flying from behind Anya and headed straight for his head. He jerked himself out of the way, losing his balance and turning halfway around. As he quickly recovered, he got his footing back and spun back to get a defensive posture ready, only to find himself staring right into Anya's practice blade.

He powered his own saber down and laughed. "Your illusions are better constructed and more clever every time! I couldn't help but react to that one."

Anya smiled and put her saber up, grabbing her real weapon and placing it on her belt. "Wanna trade? You can fool people, and I'll actually do things instead?"

Tyrrazapon laughed again. "Well, I don't think I'll take the trade. You can't look at it like that though. As much as we've been training, I look forward to our first fight with Raezyr. I think I have a better shot at taking him now.... but I'm positive you'll catch him off guard and take advantage. I knew what you could do, and still couldn't help but overreact."

Anya smiled at him again before sighing and heading down the hall. It wasn't long before they'd forgotten their duel and were enjoying a quick meal of some breaded meat and some oozing eggs.

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