The thick, heavy boom of the bass pulsed through Raiju’s blood and filled him with a familiar energy. His heart pumped in time with the music as he walked through door into the club, and the bright flashing lights dazzled his vision for a moment as his body adjusted to the sudden stimulus. He smiled and took in the atmosphere, already knowing that he would enjoy this assignment.
He pushed his way to the dance floor and cut through the churning, quaking crowd of revelers. He tried to dance, smiling moving in time with the music as he went, but couldn’t fully enjoy himself. He had to keep an eye out, scanning the crowd, listening for anything that might direct him to his quarry.
As he passed close to the gambling tables, he reveled in the sharp clatter of the chance cubes. It was almost music to his ears as the crowd around the table fell suddenly silent, then a wild cheer filled the air and overpowered the pained groans of the losers.
“Ha ha! Would you look at that? This Gand is on a roll! Another round for everybody!”A portly looking insectoid shouted, laughing as he raked in his winnings. His dark purple carapace glowed brightly in the club’s lights. Raiju smiled, it hadn’t taken very long at all to find his target.
Of course, Arcona’s newest Equite wasn’t making it very hard to be found. Lussora Diel'an was certainly putting the Gand reputation for humility to the test. All the better for Raiju, if he hurried he could have this flamboyant fool on his way to an interrogator before the night was over.
He pushed his way up to the table, grabbing a seat as one of the losers cashed out for the night. The dejected Duros wandered away shaking his head as he sat down, and the Gand leaned over to get a good look at him.
“Well now, we got a new shooter people! What’s your name son?”His voice was cheery and pleasant, if slightly muffled by the rebreather he was forced to wear.
“Tell you what, win this next roll, and you can earn my name” The Nautolan shot back with a wicked grin. Lussora stared for a brief moment, before breaking out in a wild laugh.
“Ha! This one understands the Gand! Very well, Nautolan, If you have such confidence!”The elderly Gand reached over, handing him a pair of chance cubes. Raiju smiled, he knew he would enjoy this assignment.
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“No! No, no, no, no, you cheated!” The Gand shouted as the final dice fell, the last of his credits swiflty swept up into Raiju’s arms. The Nautolan smiled knowingly, games of chance were all too easy so long as you didn’t leave them to chance. A few subtle flicks of the wrist and the cubes fell as he wished, with the Gand none the wiser. There were a few moments where he thought the old man might have been on to him, but he knew he couldn't prove it.
After all, who would believe that your opponent was moving the dice with their mind?
“Sorry about that, looks like a rotten turn of bad luck—”
“I said. You. Cheated.”The purple Arconan stood, anger clear in his body language. He curled his claws into fists and looked ready to start swinging.
“If you’d like, we could take this dispute somewhere more private?” The Nautolan suggested, standing and lowering his voice. The two men glared at each other for a moment, before the Gand let out a good-natured chuckle.
“Very well then, we settle this the old way. You win and you get to keep this Gand’s money, but if this Gand wins, you return it. All of it.”
“Agreed.”
The two stood and made their way for the back rooms, passing into a more private section of the club normally reserved for more secretive business. Thankfully empty tonight, all it took was q small bribe to one of the guards to secure a room. Lussora calmly pushed the tables and furniture to the corner of the room, rolling his neck and stretching as he prepared.
“Now, are there any rules you might— “ The Equite suddenly spun in place, easily avoiding the hidden dagger that sprung out from Raiju’s wrist. Conserving the momentum from the spin, he planted a firm open-handed strike on the Nautolan’s chest, sending him stumbling back from the impact. He growled in pain as an electrical shock ran it’s way through his system, causing his muscles to spasm involuntarily. Shock gloves…
“Awful eager to get started aren’t you?” The Gand said with a wry chuckle. Raiju could only smile in response, I suppose that would have been a bit too easy he thought.
“Did you really think we were going to play by the rules?” the Nautolan asked sarcastically, drawing his sword in his other hand. The Gand twisted his head, staring him down.
“No, did you?”
Lussora snapped his fingers once, and a sudden, painful flash of light bloomed across Raiju’s vision, disorienting him. He was immediately forced on the back foot as the Arconan charged, unleashing a flurry of strikes. He retreated backwards, giving ground as he tried to recover his vision, until suddenly bumping up against the wall behind him. The Gand lashed like a whip, striking his wrist and knocking it against the wall. The sudden shock and impact sent his sword flying before he could roll out of the way and gain some distance.The Gand quickly turned on his heel, preparing to rush him again, but Raiju was prepared this time
“Enough old man!” With a dramatic sweep of his hand, he sent a fierce wave a telekinetic energy towards the insectoid, intent on knocking him to the ground. The Gand raised his hand protectively as he did so, a translucent corona of energy blinking into existence in front of him in preparation for his strike. The two waves of Force energy collided with a dull boom, shaking the room around them and causing a gust of air.
Raiju drew and ignited his lightsaber with a loud hiss, filling the room with red light as the Gand recentered his stance. All Lussora could do in response was laugh.
“I thought there was something fishy about those dice rolls.”
