Rex to Riches, Part Two

Posted on Wed Mar 25th, 2020 @ 11:21am by Mentis & Kalen "Rex" Vickers

2,841 words; about a 14 minute read

Chapter: Chapter VI: The Last Bastion
Location: Curalo Estate, Theed, Naboo
Timeline: 0000 Hours (Local Time), Week Three, After "Rex to Riches"

OLD

Mentis peered out around the speeder to look at the outhouse, allowing some of that bright moonlight to momentarily light up his pale, chalky skin like a third smaller moon in the night. There was no one occupying the small building, but that did not mean nobody was around. Ducking back in, he gave Rex and affirming nod before quickly skirting along the remainder of the alleyway until he was hugging the wall of the guard house.

Rex followed swiftly behind and reached him just in time to watch Mentis execute what looked like a short hop, but actually carried the strength to propel him to the flat roof above but no higher, lest he be spotted. He offered an arm down to Rex and brought him up alongside him so they were both crouching looking down on a new view of the courtyard.

“Okay,” Mentis whispered, “So, I’ll get one of these poppers onto the speeder and then shoot up the tower. What about you?”

"Ain't it obvious?" Rex said with a wide smile. "You're gonna carry me on your back."

NEW

"Lighten up, man," the space captain then said, still smirking but keeping his voice quiet, so as to not disturb the bimbling, disinterested guards of Lord Curalo's estate. "I'm kiddin'. Take this." Rex rolled his shoulders as he grappled with some of the black clothing that hugged his body, the various materials of his outfit almost imperceptible in the darkness of Naboo's night. After a few seconds of silently untangling himself, he offered up a bundle of oddly-textured rope, with a metal device affixed to the end of it.

"It's old school, like the poppers," he muttered with some pride, already looping it around Mentis' bulk, not waiting for any sort of recognition or permission. "You get yourself up top there, fix this to that window," he nodded towards their towering destination, "and I'll Kowakian monkey-lizard my way up after you. I may not have many mini-clammians, but you don't reach adulthood on Tatooine without learning a few choice skills."

The Rattataki tensed slightly at the physical contact as the Human wrapped the rope about him, but remained still, "Interesting you should mention that old rock again," Mentis commented while pulling out one of the droid-poppers, "Let's hope this mission of revenge for this wronged maiden doesn't come back to bite us like Sanchester and the Krayt Dragon."

"Hey," Rex then said with a small smile and more than a hint of satisfaction. "You remembered my ballad!" Picking up on his friend's vague discomfort, he gave the Rattataki another hearty arm slap, although he was careful, at least, to not make too much sound with the contact. "Don't you be worrying about me, man; we help this damsel out, and she'll see us right, too. Now, get to it!"

Mentis then casually flicked the device out of his hand in a manner that, were he not using the Force, would have never found its target. However, his powers allowed the popper to land with a light clunk upon the speeder in the courtyard, affixing itself with magnetism. After a moment's delay, the small metal device began to spark, unloading a dangerous voltage through the vehicle's chassis and into its systems, causing the repulsorlift coils on its underside to go haywire, shunting the speeder up and down like a boat on choppy waters. A distorted alarm arose from the car as it finally gave up the struggle and slumped down to one side, kept partially aloft by one or two repulsor coils that remained intact.

"There they go," Mentis whispered, nodding towards a slightly overweight Human guard that shuffled out of the main building and edged carefully towards the speeder. Another guard could be seen rushing over from around the side of the property.

"It won't take me long to get up there so be ready," Mentis warned, giving the security of the rope around him a final check before preparing his first leap up towards the tower ledge.

"Yeah, yeah," Rex muttered, rolling his eyes at Mentis' parting comment before he got on with the task at hand.

More guards had scurried out and a couple on higher levels that had beam lanterns had their lights fixed entirely on the courtyard. The occasional beam was swung towards entrances and exits, but nothing was obviously seen. As far as anyone had worked out so far, it was simply an accident - an accident that had already drawn the attention of the lord of the manor.

Swept up in fine, shimmering dreamsilk bedrobes, the portly middle-aged man that could be none other than Lord Curalo himself marched out from the main building, his puffed up cheeks red from both anger and exhaustion. Small eyes flared, and Rex found it amusing to see the pompous rich man so worked up over the potential harm done to his vehicle. Fortunately, listening to some of the angry wispy-and-white-haired man's complaints made it clear he did not yet suspect burglars, so much as inept mechanics. A young man wearing oil-stained overalls had already appeared and was already drawing most of the lord's ire.

Captain Vickers tsked and shook his head before ambling towards the bottom of the tower. Looking up, he could see Mentis was just nearing his destination. "'Won't take me long'," he huffed quietly to himself, waiting for the rope to be affixed and then thrown down to him.

After a brief moment of watching Mentis untangle the rope from himself and affix it to the window sill, the Rattataki gave him a signal before disappearing into the building leaving Rex alone to scale the tower. Whilst a slower climber, the Human's talents for reaching and entering locations meant to be beyond his reach were made plain to see once again, as he artfully, and without the aid of the Force, scurried up, ducking and shifting occasionally to avoid the occasional stray light from the Naboo below. Before too long, Rex had reached the window, and with an inelegant grunt as he winded himself slightly on the sill, he clambered inside.

The room was dark and Rex could not see much aside from a slither of the room illuminated by the moonlight from the window, revealing the corner of a four-post bed with an old chest at the foot as well as a sliding cupboard door on the far side of the room.

"Well?" came a hushed whisper from the darkness beside the Human, "Is this the right room? It seems a little fancy for a handmaiden."

Rex huffed a little at Mentis and arched an eyebrow as he pushed past him, moving straight towards the chest. "Been in many handmaidens' rooms?" He threw at his accomplice, having already cracked the primitive lock to begin rifling through the trove hidden within, the moonlight glinting off of the jewellery and other objects Rex was either pushing aside or pocketing, appearing to make little attempt to discern anything in particular.

"Instead of starin', why don't you, uhh, go check that cupboard there, hmm?" The wily smuggler gestured impatiently across the room.

"All right, let's just get this thing done," the Rattataki sighed as he walked over towards the wardrobe and slid it open. He picked up a small, but heavy lock box buried amongst some ornate dress shoes and gave it a shake before putting it under one arm. The rest of the wardrobe contained similarly extravagant clothes, that seemed far beyond what a handmaiden would be afforded.

Sliding the door gently closed again, the former cultist walked back around the bed and towards the main doorway, which was slightly ajar.

A thin line of light was stretching into the room from the large wooden double-doors that served as the chamber's one usual route of entry, casting enough brightness for both the cupboard and a nearby an oil painting portraiture of a stately, if slightly overweight, gentleman, to be visible. Its recreated eyes cast a disdainful look over the room, as well as the nearby four-poster bed, which appeared unmade and recently used. To the more observant eye, recently melted wax could be seen both on the ornate bedside table and floor, a thin trail of solidified drips leading towards the doorway.

"Someone's been here recently," Mentis shot his voice over to Rex as he crept closer to the doorway, "The bed has been slept in and I'm sure I can sense someone nearby,"

"You're bein' paranoid," Rex said dismissively, not looking at Mentis as he waved at him with one hand and pocketed an elaborate gold chain with the other. He had already moved on from the chest to a polished wooden mirrored stand, his deft hands making light work of the various small drawers and compartments. Already, his pockets and compartments were growing thick with pilfered trinkets.

The pale humanoid crossed across the slither of light and into the darkness, peering intently at the partially-open door. Perhaps prompted by his approach, there was an audible creak outside the room, causing Rex's had to quickly snap up, but he just as quickly turned it back down again, perhaps in denial of what just happened.

"There was someone looking through the doorway. A woman, I think," Mentis' voice remained low but betrayed his concern, "They ran off. I don't think we've got long here, Rex."

"Don't be so dramatic," Rex dismissed again, purposely sounding as though he had only been half-listening to his friend's complaints, even though there was now more than a hint of concern in his own voice. The pace of his ransacking increased.

The Rattataki did not seem overly convinced by the dismissal and continued to eye the doorway, "Let's just hurry out of here," he warned as he too went back to the search, with his gaze continuing to flick back to the doorway. A dressing table sat close to the door and several pieces of precious-looking jewellery were dotted around the surface. Mentis scooped up a few pieces with his free hand and examined the haul in his palm.

"I am sure our handmaiden will be very pleased to have 'her' beautiful jewellery back," Mentis indicated his opinion to Rex, but then abruptly fell silent, having spotted something in the mirror.

Rex was then suddenly aware of Mentis seeming to throw himself across the room towards him, colliding with the smuggler just in time to stop a carefully aimed blaster bolt from burning a hole into his skull. The two intruders fell down to the ground at the foot of the bed while the attacker made himself known: a well-built but older guard in a traditional uniform that barged through the doorway with his weapon now pointed towards Mentis, perhaps now wary of the disturbingly fast individual. His face was not entirely clear in the darkness but his voice came through a thick, trimmed beard as he spoke.

"Kriff and kark!" Rex had shouted at the sudden jolt and the blaster fire. He began shuffling to dislodge Mentis and rise up, when he finally recognised what was actually unfolding. He swore again under his breath as he and his Rattataki partner-in-crime rose up, carefully positioning himself behind Mentis.

"No sudden moves, thieves!" The guard barked, jamming his gun an inch closer to the pair. "Show me your hands!"

"Oh, sure," Rex said in a surprisingly calm voice, although it betrayed a tone that Mentis already recognised as conspiratorial. He began to slowly raise his hands, whilst still simultaneously edging closer towards Mentis.

"Where are they!" Then came the barking voice of an older man from out in the corridor, accompanied by the booming footsteps of a man somewhat beyond the average weight. Sure enough, must a few seconds later, the doors to the room were barged even further open, and the red-cheeked dreamsilk-clad Lord Curalo burst into the bedroom, another two guards narrowly behind his bulky frame, peering over his rounded shoulders. "You!" He warbled, his cheeks shaking from the exertion of pointing at the intruders. "You damaged my speeder, and now you're stealing my possessions. A sub-Human alien, no less!"

The room then suddenly lit up in an ethereal crimson glow, everyone's eyes lighting up from the brilliant bright light that erupted from behind Mentis. Lord Curalo instantly took two stumbling steps backwards, almost crashing into his guardsmen as he did, his mouth and eyes wide in fright as he registered the humming plasma blade held in Rex Vickers' hands.

"Jedi!" He screamed, but whilst the others had instinctively raised their blasters when Rex had activated Mentis' pilfered weapon, they did not dare to take any action.

"No sudden moves!" Rex shouted, echoing he guard's own words as he shouldered Mentis out of the way, swinging the lightsaber this way and that with no grace or poise, not that it seemed to be noticed by the Nabooians.

Mentis, who still had two arms full of loot, was unable to guard his lightsaber from being swept into Rex's grasp and but his face painted a picture of horror, tinged with an anger he was tempering as best he could.

"What the kark are you..." he began to hiss to the smuggler, before changing tack and addressing Lord Curalo, "Listen, just let us..."

"That red blade," the guard payed no attention to the Rattataki now as he stared at the crimson-hued plasma that now allowed them to see the soft lines around his mouth and forehead that were just beginning to bead with the faintest traces of sweat, "My Lord, I think he is one of the dark Jedi."

Curalo made a few bumbling noises, his mouth moving up and down as nothing was said, his panicked eyes, intermingled with both rage and abject fear, flitting from the blade, to Mentis and Rex, to his own guards. He seemed unsure as to whether he should order his goons to try gunning down the interlopers, or whether he should simply flee for his life. Rex soon made that decision for him.

Swinging the blade a little closer to the natives, Rex took a step forward and put on his meanest face, widening his own eyes in mock madness. "Now, you fellas better get outta here quick, else I'm going to start swinging!"

Rex's sudden advance caused Curalo to start smacking his palm against the guard he was leaning on, and he was already trying to shove past them to get to the double doors and make good his escape. Their own eyes wide and entirely confused by the spectacle unfolding, the guards did not immediately make any move to leave or to fight the saber-wielding burglar confronting them. However, with Curalo forcing his frame between them both, Rex decided that was as good a time as any to complete their little escapade.

"Time for us to go!" He said with more than a hint of confidence to Mentis, picking up some of the loot he has discarded when claiming his friend's weapon, as he urged the Rattataki back towards the window. As he came within reach of the window, he waved Mentis' lightsaber a couple of more times to ensure the Nabooians had not altered their assessment of his threat. "You try an' follow us, and I'll crush your windpipes with a thought!"

"He'll do it," Mentis confirmed, his voice plain and believable, "He's a powerful sorcerer. Why else would I be following him?"

"Awright, awright," Rex hissed to Mentis. "Don't overdo it!"

Retrieving the lock box and the handful of jewellery, the Rattataki edged himself close to where Rex stood by the window and stole a quick glance outside, appearing to measure the distance to the guardhouse roof below.

"Right, I'm gonna' jump out first and then you jump after me," he whispered behind Rex, "Don't worry; 'your' powerful Force abilities will break your fall."

Rex looked over their gathered opponents and swung Mentis' saber a couple of more times again, just for good measure. When Mentis did not move quickly enough, he decided to reinforce their master-slave image again, and gave a firm backwards kick into the Rattataki's back, knocking him flying out of the window. Giving it a couple of seconds before making another move of his own, Rex then climbed up onto the window frame, being sure to not look down, although a gust of wind gripped him, an icy pang of fear shooting through his heart.

"Oh, kriff," he swore, eyes widening as he looked down at the sheer drop. The descent had not seemed so severe when he had been climbing in the opposite direction. Rex then noticed that his foes had begun exchanging glances, some element of confidence perhaps tearing down their prior caution. "Crush your windpipes!" He reminded them, wiggling the lightsaber before then slicing hard into the wall next to the window, carving a bright line into the structure. "G'luck!"

And then he jumped.

TBC

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