Everything about seemed as casual and usual as any person who had dwelled on Coruscant would expect. Any typical Coruscant citizen would be normally absentminded of the fact of the overly delinquent activity that was going on in the lower level regions that most of the decent folk had forsaken long ago. Without question, there were a few friendly residents still residing in that locale, but it seemed to him that they were few and far in between, in a distance that would be dangerous for most groups. Of course, among the galaxy, there were some select individuals that could tread those streets without much fear for themselves, those who could handle combat even with multiple assailants coming upon him or her. Those numbers were few, even among Force adepts. It would take a fair amount of knowledge and training in close quarters combat, and he knew himself be among those numbers. Fortunately, for him, he was the only one among these parts that knew about himself as much as this, even if being among Jedi and Sith.

Richter Belmont, still young among Force adepts, and younger still amongst his fellow Jedi, sat the base of the Temple, still pondering on how to make Fenrir become aware of him. It was within the Temple he had last heard of him, when the Jedi had made its first meeting in as many months as when he had first made his presence made known to him. Even in the ablaze in the smoke of the darkside, there was some enticing power that Fenrir made known to Richter during his post-training weeks, waiting for some Jedi Master to hear his humble plea for a trial. There was a debt due unto Fenrir that Richter felt obliged to give, even if it were in his own mind and none other. Conceivably, Fenrir could not hear him. It was his prison within the Temple and within himself that expelled all of Richter’s influence or presence within the Force from reaching him. The Jedi Knight thought hard of what to do, as his calls given were without reply.

”Thou art called, and do not call back. Can ye not hear? Can ye not see?”

It was an impossible errand to pursue, and he felt ridiculous for just standing there and waiting for an answer that was most probably not to come within this time. He took a deep breath and sighed, then turned away without even knowing what was about to come before him. He ventured to a more isolated region among the vast structures that made up the city planet. He had gotten used to the sights, and marveled little at the sight of them most of the time. Afternoon was passing into twilight about this region of the planet, which seemed impractical to some considering the unified nature of the entire planet, with all the buildings seemingly connected together as if it was some snug little puzzle in a state of perpetual cohesiveness.

Richter slowed and then halted, taking a moment to reflect, only to be interrupted by an uncivil commotion. The Jedi Knight looked up to the sky after becoming aware of the ungainly scene and knowing those who instigated it. He reflected upon the good deeds of those who took the time to inhibit the efforts of those who would make such scenes as this, and by doing so he related himself to them, even if by being among kin of such people.

”No matter what we do, it never ends.”

Three Republic law enforcement officers were trying to subdue those who had committed some immoral deed, physical or metaphorical, he himself not knowing what it was yet. One of the felons was about to fell one of the officers when they noticed Richter was approaching, so instead of killing the officer he pushed him away hoping to tally an easy kill on a seemingly defenseless bystander that let curiosity put him to death. The felon had a vibro knife in his right hand, and he took negative x arc swing at his level elevation, but nothing came of it as Richter rolled under and to the felon’s right, and swiftly countered at the felon’s right leg behind and under the patella bone. The felon tumbled over as he screamed in pain. In his surprise, he dropped his knife, and Richter turned over with his hands and used his feet to yank it over to him by the handle. Another felon came from behind in order to take advantage of the oppurtunity that he thought he saw before him. He swiftly made his way over to Richter, and took back his right leg and then swung it forward towards Richter’s head. Too late did he notice his mistake, as the Jedi Knight turned and moved over to the second felon’s left side and kicked him just above the ankle, and this in turn caused this felon to fall over awkwardly and sprain his left leg and tear the ACL in his right leg. For the moment, those two were incapacitated, and it would have been brief nonetheless but for the one of the officers that had retrieved his pistol and stunned the two that Richter had taken care of.

The commotion was taken under control, and the law enforcement officers were able to cuff and confine the rest of the felon’s without any further trouble. The lead officer passed by Richter in order to express gratitude for his help, but Richter could also feel that a request was coming on by the way the other talked, and his head slunk a bit as he quietly groaned. Of course, he didn’t do it in a way that would make the officer notice or offended, for the Jedi Knight was too subtle for that. He nodded, knowing that it was better to accept gratitude graciously and lent his ear for the coming request. As he had guessed from the situation, the leader was impressed with the Jedi Knight’s skills in hand to hand combat, even though he lacked the knowledge that Richter was indeed a Jedi, for Richter had skillfully neglected to mention that. It was in his nature to help others, and he could not resist the want that which was insisted upon him by them. The officers acquired some critical information from the felons which would lead them to the domain of their leader, and also a small hint of the purpose of their faction’s existence. A sudden urge came upon to Richter to question the detainees further, and in impetuous fashion he came upon the one who gave the information of the faction’s purpose.

”Who is he meeting with? Tell me.”

There was a flare in his eyes as his voice roared, and it was enough to leave everyone stunned, but the most aghast was the one that Richter right in front of him, and there was terror on his face. Only he could see it, the change in Richter’s eyes, the change that happens only when the alter ego takes to the surface for his occasional uproar. The felon began to shiver, and he cried and then began to laugh insanely. It was obvious he was driven mad by the mere sight of Richter’s eyes as he peered into the soul, but he was still sane enough to say something he believed to be true a moment before.

”You are all going to die if you attempt to go. You cannot beat them, my brothers. The boss will kill you, and she will kill you with her dark powers.”

As Richter’s true consciousness returned, he raised his left eyebrow as he saw the felon before him cackle and then collapse suddenly. The officers and the felons began to gaze back and forth at each other, for they were amazed by what they had seen. The Jedi backed away and stood upright, looking to the west at the structures that beckoned him to challenge those obstacles that awaited any who would dare tread those paths long condemned by society. He then began to walk toward the edge of the terrain in which they occupied, until he came to the edge of it. The lead officer told him that they had the original plans for those structures to the west, and it was strange enough that it was connected to the old imperial palace and the Jedi Temple, and the pinnacle of the triangle from the map’s perspective was Palin’s Casino. Richter took a look at the archived construction plans, and he realized how deadly the situation could become. There was something amiss here, and he knew it.

”No, I cannot be seeing this. Something is afoot mates, and I intend to uncover what this is.”

It was the beginning of a crisis that would yield untold horrors for the good and innocent societies, and it would profit much for the unjust if it went unchecked. It was surely something that could be unraveled single handedly if the job was taken immediately in haste and without delay, for even the Jedi Knight could not know what the consequences would be if he failed and how terrible the future would become, for he could not comprehend it. For now, the problem was only a seedling that had just taken root, and it was ripe for the picking, however inconsequential it may seem. Twilight was upon them, and the felons he had helped to confine were only a small sample from which they had come from, and they had begun to disperse without notice. Their dark desires brought them from the depths of the structures, and they welcomed the night in which they would tread.