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Fox walked through the alleys of Coruscant quietly, his squad behind him. They had received reports and complaints about a bloodied man roaming the area. The descriptions weren’t solid, but most said he was dark-skinned and most likely human. Fox wasn't wanting to deal with this, it wasn't his job, but the Coruscant Police wouldn't do it.
Fox heard something rustle from behind a dumpster and raised his hand, bringing his group to a halt. Drawing a pistol, Fox slowly walked around, two of his men falling to his side. The group Fox brought were masters at stealth, some of the best to use for tracking missions.
Fox froze as he spotted a foot shift, and a couple of seconds later, a man stepped out. The soldiers reacted immediately, all blasters raised and poised at the stranger. Fox had whipped his second pistol out, sure that his posture gave a clear order to the man.
Sure enough, the stranger's hands shot into the air, and he froze. Fox took his time to observe him. The man was dark-skinned with long black locks and brown eyes. He had a distinct golden tattoo going across the bridge of his nose. He was Kiffu. The most striking thing was the blood caked to the man's face and clothes.
"Keep your hands up, and don't move!" Fox ordered as he stepped closer.
"Listen, soldier," the Kiffu tried to speak, "It's not what it looks like."
"So you aren't a suspicious man covered in blood hiding in a back alleyway?" Fox quickly shot back.
The Kiffu froze and chuckled lowly. "Yeah, I suppose that looks bad, but I swear, it's all my blood….. Well, most of it.”
Fox tilted his head skeptically and stepped closer. Upon further inspection, the Kiffu did have a couple of tears in his clothes, and the blood on his head was flowing, albeit a bit slowly. He was even swaying slightly. Even though the Kiffu was speaking the truth, it still left the question of who hurt him and who the other blood belonged to.
"Look, I know you don't trust me." The Kiffu stepped forward and was rewarded with blasters being switched off stun. "But, I can give you a reason to."
Fox nodded, "If you don't give a good enough reason, I'm detaining you." He was going to detain the Kiffu no matter what, but he didn't have to know that.
The Kiffu slowly moved his hands behind his back, Fox and his men growing tense. The man cautiously pulled out a cylindrical object and held it out for Fox to look at. Unamused and believing this to be a waste of time, Fox merely glanced at the object. The design was simple, but Fox recognized it immediately. A lightsaber.
"You're… a General?" Fox muttered, quickly lowering his blaster and silently cursing himself.
"No, I'm not a General." The Kiffu quickly shook his head, "but I am a Jedi."
Fox frowned; he thought all Jedi were Generals. He opened his mouth to speak just as the General swayed to the side and fell. Startled, Fox holstered his pistols and moved to help the Jedi.
"I'm okay. I'm okay." The Kiffu slurred, sitting up. "Just a little fall."
"Sir… you.." Fox paused. He wasn't sure how to talk with the General. The GAR only had nice things to say, but that didn’t necessarily mean Fox and the Guard would be treated the same. "You're bleeding profusely on durasteel, General. I don't think that counts as okay ."
"Please, I have a name, you know." the Kiffu grinned, his eyes drooping. "And this is just a scratch; I'm fine. I just need to get to a medbay, preferably not at the temple."
Fox blinked; he was beginning to understand what Cody meant by "stubborn Generals." Moving forward, Fox watched as the General's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell unconscious. What the hell was he supposed to do with a dying Jedi? Fox didn't even know his name.
"Uhh, Commander?" Fix spoke up, the young trooper visibly confused. "Do we need to contact the Jedi Temple?"
Fox crossed his arms, irritation beginning to rise. "No, he said he didn't want to go to the temple. Besides that, we still don't know if he's telling the truth or if he stole the lightsaber."
"Good point," Elks muttered, walking past Fox and over to the supposed Jedi. "Contact Tonic?"
"Yes," Fox knelt down and grabbed the lightsaber from the unconscious man. "It's the best choice. He won't be in a prison cell or at the temple, so either way he turns out, a thief or a Jedi, we shouldn't get in trouble."
Elks nodded and commed Tonic, quickly relaying their position. Fox had the sneaking feeling that things were going to get complicated. He had a massive headache, also. Stupid Kiffu.
~*~
Fox walked down the halls of the barracks, datapads in hand and a migraine pounding against his skull. The person they found yesterday had finally woken up, and Tonic wanted Fox to come before the man escaped. Fox still hand the supposed Jedi's lightsaber and didn't feel like returning it until he could prove he was a Jedi. As he got closer to the room, he picked up Tonic’s irritated voice.
“Sir, you are still injured. You need to lay down.” Fox could tell the Tonic was on verge of snapping.
“I’ll be right back.” Fox could practically hear the man’s grin, “I just need to find the soldier who took my lightsaber.”
“Commander Fox is busy; you need to rest.” Tonic snapped, and Fox decided to turn the corner before the medic got in trouble.
“Is everything alright over here?” Fox asked, eyeing the Jedi.
"Ahh, Commander Fox." The man limped his way over to him, practically dragging his feet. "Good to see you."
"Sir, it would be wise of you to follow our medic's orders. Even if you are a General, medics have more superiority over you when your health is in jeopardy." Fox warned, eyeing Tonic.
"Well, I'm sure that's true for Generals, but I'm not a General." Quinlan smiled, but Fox could tell he was slightly irritated. "I'm a Jedi, not a General."
"I don't believe you." Tonic interrupted, storming in front of them.
Fox looked at Tonic in shock while the stranger started laughing. "Really?"
"Yeah, really?" Tonic growled, "How does a Jedi get as injured as you were? On Coruscant, not far from the Jedi Temple."
"You're smart, but I was injured in the underground. I'm what's called a Shadow; I do undercover missions for the Order."
"What's your name?" Fox asked; he'd have Cody find out from General Kenobi if this Jedi exist.
"Quinlan Vos."
"Well, General Vos." Fox began, purposely calling him General to annoy him. "You'll be wise to limp your way back into the medbay and stay there until you recover fully."
Quinlan smiled wide, amusement swimming in his eyes. "I like you, Commander Fox. Can I have my lightsaber back?"
"No"
"What? Why not?" Quinlan pouted.
"Because I need to confirm whether you are who you say you are or not." Fox shot back like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Quinlan blinked once, a stupid grin replacing the pout. “Alright, I see how you are, Commander Fox. I’ll play your game.”
“Game?”
Quilan waved off the confusion and limped back into the medbay, Tonic following closely. Fox stood outside the medbay and watched as Quinlan laid down, Tonic quickly reattaching him to the equipment. Fox had the sneaking feeling that Quinlan Vos was going to become a thorn in his side for a long time, but he didn’t seem to mind.