Proving Grounds [Complete]

[Lord Zedd]

With the fall of night, the night life of Tier Two was wide awake and going strong. Bars and clubs welcomed in patrons from all walks of life, while the music blared and the drinks flowed. Cade found himself in a club high above the city, dressed casually and free of his Stormtrooper armor. He stepped out of the elevator and looked around for a second before spotting Laci waving to him from a table. He was quick to make his way over to where she was seated alongside Knox and Grace. Just beside their table was a glass wall that allowed them to survey the beauty of Coruscant's second tier in the midst of the night.

“Ladies, gentleman!” Cade smiled as he took seat reserved for him, and grabbed the drink that was already waiting on him. “This is the part of Coruscant I can get used to.”

“Food’s on the way, and so’s another pitcher,” Grace said, conveying her agreement.

“Didn’t invite Zedd, right?” Cade was quick to ask.

“Hell no,” Knox instantly replied. “That crazy dude just about got us killed today.”

“It’s a good thing we stuck together and bailed out of there,” Laci reasoned between sips of her drink. “I don’t think that’s the last time we’re going to be doing that.”

“Me either,” Grace agreed. “He’s dangerous.”

“What the hell are they thinking, pairing us with that lunatic?” Knox remarked, glancing over just slightly as the next pitcher was delivered to their table.

“I heard from Sull that Zedd was told he’d suffer serious consequences if anything happens to us,” Grace said as she poured herself another drink.

Knox and Cade looked to each other and scoffed.

“Cool, so that doesn’t do us any good if we’re already dead,” Knox laughed as he rolled his eyes. How else could he take such news?

“Sure says what they think of us to team us with that clown, though, doesn’t it?” Laci pondered aloud after a bit of laughter herself.

“This stormtrooper thing is not what I wanted to be a part of, anyway,” Knox agreed. “I guess it shows.”

“Yea, then what do you want to do?” Cade asked as he leaned back a bit.

“You seen those crazy ships they have flying all over the place?” Knox said, without missing a beat. “X-Wings, TIE Fighters, all kinds of cool technology. I want to fly one of those. They’re not easy to get behind the controls of, though. You’ve got to work for it.”

“I’m in the same boat,” Laci agreed. “Those Titans, Mechs, whatever they’re called? I want one of them.”

“And here I just want to fix stuff like that,” Grace chuckled. “And they gave me a gun!”

The four laughed again, before turning their attention to Cade. Laci grinned as she pried him for answers. “What about you, Cade? What do you really want to do here?”

Cade shrugged. “I don’t know. Not this.”

“Hell yea. I’ll drink to that,” Knox laughed as he raised his glass. “Here’s to the misfits!”

Everyone cheered and tapped their glasses together. It was a long night celebrating the fact that Zedd didn’t get the four of them killed, somehow. They told stories, shared dreams and aspirations, and joked about how much they weren’t looking forward to putting that white armor back on. As the night wore on, they made the choice to head back to their respective living spaces and prepare themselves for another day under the command of one of the most unstable primes they’d ever seen. There was no telling what level of adventure it would bring.

They just knew that with as much as they’d had to drink, it sure wouldn’t be pleasant.