Space

[Bad karma]

How cold do you get, on those long nights alone drifting in space?

 

There is a chill upon the populace of existence and reality. Cold and callous, jaded to death and destruction. Life is snuffed out by the millions for the ego of so few. An expression of power for the insecure, when doubt bubbles up within your breast swords are withdrawn.

 

What is this?

 

This atrocious existence, the masses can provide no resistance. Quell your urges, watch as others attempt to do it for you, but in the end there is only twisted metal and bone ground to dust under the boots of a thousand soldiers.

 

The concept of happiness is foreign and lethal.

 

Sin drips from quicksilver tongues, caress soft flesh, and saturate each and every life with any hope of existing beyond the here and now.

 

Watch it, witness it, be a part of it for long enough and the tedium of it all will start to gnaw at you. A razor in the cold dark, it stings more than any carving of the flesh or shattering of bones could hope to.

 

Save the physicality of it all, save me the repetition of destruction when we all know there is Nothing that can stop any one of us in the physical realm of things. Anything you can destroy can be rebuilt. Do you not see the tedium of this existence, the echos of everything?

 

How does one say so much, while saying nothing at all...

[Orphan]

Night had long befallen this planet which Kiff had found himself upon, his figure finding stealth within it's shadows as he makes his way toward his target. It had been just a few days since he took on this bounty, not a life in peril, but a bounty on an object of great value to his payer. All the information he had on this object was a sadden history, two friends who uncovered the artifact and eventually fought over it until one perished at the hands of the other. Placing his back firmly against the wall, Kiff held his breath as a guard of the estate passed by unaware of his presence.

 

It wasn't a story Kiff had never heard before, greed a long known primitive emotion of every sentient being. But it wasn't his call to decide who the artifact truly belonged to. Only that he do the job he was paid to do. Once the guard was out of sight, he stuck his head out and soon made his way across the courtyard. The planet's moon shown down upon it's surface brightly, providing unusual lighting, but it did not matter. The guards were patrolling lightly, so only a handful was on guard this night.

 

"Now, where is this blasted room?"

 

Kiff thought to himself in silence as he ducked behind a bush that littered the edge of the courtyard, pulling out a datapad containing a map of the compound. Glancing over it and his surroundings, Kiff soon noticed it was far- up the ramp to the far east and after rounding the corner to the right laid his home stretch.

 

"Excellent. I can soon rid myself from this monarch of a planet."

 

Heading toward the ramp, Kiff stayed low to the ground and ran along the bushes, granting himself a rather unusual cover. But he knew he could not be caught, for it would likely mean his demise. Making it to the estate's eastern entrance, Kiff once again hid himself from a guard, being sure to hold his breath to hide his presence from sensitive ears. Now though, began the hard part. Splicing the security panel would not be an easy task, especially considering he possessed no droid. Taking off the panel's cover, Kiff soon began his work.

[Nhagathul]

The yacht shuddered deeply as it was wrenched out of hyperspace, sending many of the living occupants of the ship tumbling into bulkheads and bodies. A cachophony of screams and sobbing came across all channels as others caught in the planetary charybdis desperately tried to reach out for help. The ship plummeted through atmosphere as if in a desperate dive to reach the planet, and the final landing, although it could equally be described as a crash, once again through the riders about.

 

The cargo bay doors yawned open revealing a dismal sight, a landscape of rust and black stone buildings, occaisionally capped with gray ash that seemed to fall like snow from the sky. Two lines of pole lamps lit a path towards the diabolical city, each one bearing a hapless figure bound to it with barbed wire that seemed to writhe and constrict of its own accord. In the outstretched palms of these victims burned oil fires, searing their flesh and casting flickering light upon their horrified faces.

 

As one, the corpses aboard the yacht jolted upright and pointed in unison to the exit. The journey was over, the nightmare had just begun.

 

Welcome back...

[Darth Furion]

Teeth clenched and ground together as pale blue static charge danced across his flush skin and outlined his bones like a flashing x-ray. The only sound the Sith made was a heavy, controlled sigh once the charge was spent and faint wisps of smoke trailed away. Pain was irrelevant, a physical sensation useful only to caution him of the condition of his body. The boy was out cold, though not a condition he could have helped. Julio hunched over and picked the youth, tossing him lightly over his shoulder and started his way to the hanger.

 

Julio would stretch out to the unconscious mind of his potential progeny intermittently and show him the sights he would expect to see, should he have gotten his way and ended what he thought was a graveyard ship. Flames bounding forth from wire cases, the smell of charred and burning plastics and metals, all the expected stimulus one would expect to see in an exploding ship. Once the boy was strapped tightly into Ezra, Julio took off and paused a thousand meters outside the ship. One final flash in the soft, malleable mind of the lost Firrerreo offered what he expected, a bright, orange flash of light followed by a massive shockwave of debris and unleashed energy. No sound accompanied the explosion, but there was no sound in space. The sound of solace would forever be missing.

 

Let's go, lad. There's nothing left for you here.

[Oculus]

Hours had passed, days even it seemed, as Luna trekked through-out the ship's entirety. The Miralukian hybrid found a weird feeling of comfort emanating from her as she scouted each corner and crevasse, determined to keep her mind sane within thoughts of logical reasoning. But if there was ever a place that wasn't capable of logic, she was no aboard it. The smell of death, the dry peeling of blood that littered the walls and floor- to even have ventured aboard was beyond logic. Yet something still puled her farther in.

 

Suddenly chills ran up Luna's spine, causing her to flinch and seize furiously as anyone did when a sudden fear made it's presence among them. It was as if Death it's self had poured it's cold musky breath down upon the back of her neck as she hear the pitter-patter of small feet running across the mangled bodies and blood covered metal plates. Luna, though fearful of her own insanity, couldn't help but proceed behind it, as if praying something was truly alive aboard this ship besides those that came across it at Onderon.

 

"Excuse me"

 

Luna nearly tripped in her panic, never a sight seen before as hers as she jumped from fright and began trying to clear the bodies in a single bound. Her face pale and her heart pounding away faster than the pistons of a SSD, she gathered herself long enough to turn and view a fragile girl step from the shadows and into the light. Again she spoke.

 

"E-Excuse me."

 

Luna wanted to reply, but could not find the words past the lump that held it's own within the middle of her throat, forcing Luna to merely nod to show the girl that she held her attention. The girl seemed as frightened as Luna, her startled dashing of her gaze at every little noise suggesting at it. Her clothes were torn, and her body covered in the same dried blood that coated the walls. She couldn't have been no more than twelve or thirteen years old by the looks of her, but with the logic of where they were completely confused that suggestion.

 

Finally the girl felt safe enough to speak, but as she did, Luna nearly gasped in complete horror. For where an innocent voice should have came, a hoarse groan of an old woman's erupted. The voice from before was so different, what Luna concluded was hers. It was so faint, so eerie- the first voice. But the child's, so old, so demanding of attention. It couldn't have been the same voice... could it?

 

"You... Blind Warrior." The child spoke, Luna still freaked out by the voice as the child's finger came upon her standing. "Those that boarded after you.... I.. I know them."

 

((Continued in the Nhagathul Thread))

[Rezjal-el]

”œYour life is what you make it, Rez. Let no one tell you otherwise. No compromise, no surrender, everything has a price.”

[Darth Furion]

Ezra touched down on a backwater planet with a name that was entirely inconsequential. It was so far off the beaten path the only trade ships that touched down were of private organizations built upon family lines stretching back so far it was bound to be incestuous at some point or another. You could see it just by walking down the street and looking on the faces of the planet's population, all with similar, if not spot on features through centuries of unstirred gene pools. Goods traded here were all common place on any given planet, the food as bland and generic as any rations passed as backhanded aid to struggling systems.

 

A single man strolled forward to meet Julio for his docking fees, and probably weasel out any further credits out of the foreigner as he could manage.

 

"No, no, I'll only need the refuel. And..." He paused to take a look around, a dramatic gesture, but one intended to ensure the hanger attendant would notice the need for secrecy. "I'll double the pay if no one knows this ship is here. The Empire would hate to hear one of its closest guarded secrets was let out because of some loose lipped nerf herder. Hear me?"

 

"Ye...yes sir." He said bemused between the prospect of getting paid to simply keep his mouth shut, and selling the location of such a rare and unique ship for a fortune. Seeing the conflict in the man's eyes, Julio stepped close to be face to face with him, barely three inches between them, his golden bestial eyes boring deep into the mans own rich brown.

 

"And I will find you." He said in such a low, confident voice the certainty of which left no room for question. Somewhere in the front of this man's mind, he had no doubt what Julio said was true, and would do anything in his power to ensure that he did not fail. Without another word he spun and hobbled away as quickly as he could without outright running.

 

"Hey! Boy! Wake up!" He called up to the mech's cockpit. When no answer came back, Julio pressed his two index fingers to his lips and let loose one of the loudest whistles the young lad had ever heard.

 

"Food!"

[Rezjal-el]

Vaegir woke with a start, his heart racing at the sudden shrill sound that filled the air about him. His first reaction was to stare about wide eyed, looking for the source of the horrendous noise. In his sleep filled state he had mistaken the sound for an alarm. He rushed forth to the window of the mech's cockpit, hands placed against the glass as he looked down upon his savior. Oddly enough he had yet had the chance to learn the man's name, knowing him only as ”˜that guy'. He raised a single thumb to show he heard the message well enough, the promise of food almost something far too tempting to resist.

 

On shaky legs he would make his descent through the ship, finding the opened access ramp that allowed him to take his leave. This world was”¦ less than impressive, though it was the first he had set foot on in thirty years. Vaegir did his best to remain optimistic, taking in the good and the bad with the notion that he was better off on this nameless planet than in the cryostasis chamber he had known for so long. It was at this time he took note of his attire, how his grey, imperial issue prison wardrobe stood out in sharp contrast with just about every other person on the street. He was unmistakably a prisoner, this would have to be rectified soon.

 

”œYou mentioned something about food?”

[Darth Furion]

"Well, the locals may call it food," came his unconvincing response as he tried to ignore the concerns fresh on the lad's mind. "but we'll have to judge that for ourselves. Though, I bet you can eat a bantha that's sat out on the dunes for a week."

 

He spun and headed for the nearest eatery. Walking with the hopeful at his heels, Julio ignored the stares and not so subtle glances the locals cast, further evidence to how secluded the planet really was. It wasn't quite third world bad. As usual, very few held all the real wealth, pockmarking the towns with one or two large family mansions and a couple smaller businesses to cater to the needs of the rich, while the rest of the buildings rarely rose above a single story. On the upside, it made finding the good restaurants easy to find. Walking the streets, the Sith let his senses ride for the first time in days, life all around and full of fluxing emotion. It was sweet and intoxicating, and it led his feet to where he wanted to go. Twist and turn after another, he took them through the most crowded parts of the city. They saw dozens of public transportation depots along the way, any one of them capable of taking them to their destination, but Julio wanted to walk, and the lad's legs could use the exercise. Ten miles as the crew flys from the hanger, they arrived a a two story restaraunt, with the entire roof open as a patio. Though the day was somewhat overcast, the cross breeze from that height would be rather pleasant.

 

"Where do you think you're going?" Spewed the pompous host behind his podium just outside the front door. His rueful gaze set dutifully upon the boy, still in his prison grey jumpsuit. Julio had nearly forgotten how casually he donned an air of obscurity when he walked amongst the crowds, and how this man would think little to nothing if Julio had walked up to him in the same clothes the boy had.

 

In a single smooth stride Julio was before the host, completely blocking the boy from his view. The Sith bent forward and whispered something curt and brash to the host before stepping back beside his hopeful.

 

"My apologies, sir. Right this way."

 

The host personnally lead them to the turbolift in the middle of the dining room and took it straight to the top, where a scant few tables lined the parameter, and a large dance floor of smooth alabaster consumed the majority of the floor.

 

"Any table you wish, sir. We wont be expecting any guests who dine on this floor for another hour."

 

Thank you. He said in passing, already headed to the table overlooking the largest, most luxurious portion of the city. The host was right on his heals, ready to pull the seat out for the new guest and his company.

 

"Our wines this evening are..."

 

"Blossom, if you have it."

 

The host stepped aback half a step before rapidly composing himself. "Well, yes sir, but we do not get imports from Naboo very often. Perhaps once every five years. We have only one bottle, and it is one hundred and seventy-two years old. It is being saved for the wedding of the young..."

 

"I'll take it. We're celebrating our freedom today, aren't we lad? And you cannot put a price on one's freedom."

[Rezjal-el]

”œNo”¦ no you can't.”

[Darth Furion]

Julio had been staring off into the distance, drawn to one of the larger mansions off in the distance. Something about it called to him, urged him to go and seek something out. It was similar to what had pulled him away from his reprieve just a couple days ago and brought him to the lad sitting before him now, but it wasn't as urgent, as if there were other things he should be attending to. It was just far enough off the tip of his senses he could ignore it for now. Pushing the thought back into its appropriate compartment, Julio was brought back to himself by the youth's sudden interest.

 

"Or something..." He said, still somewhat detached. Hearing the distance in his own voice, the Sith perked up noticeably.

 

"You know, we've been through a lot together in such a short time, and I really know little about you. I must apologize for my distance in our small journey together, I've had a lot on my mind recently. And what with the conditions surrounding your very presence, well..."

 

Julio sat back in his chain and let his arms fold behind his head, his fingers coursing through his matted, bedraggled hair as he sighed lightly and cast a glance once again into the unmoving overcast skies.

 

"Let's just say it's been a trying time for both of us, eh?"

 

The wine arrived. Julio paused for a moment to sample the wine, smelling it, sipping it, feeling the texture of it as it swashed around his mouth and down his throat. A soft, but polite groan slipped from his lips as the sweet wine still danced alive on his palette. A curt nod told the waiter the wine was acceptable and he took his leave.

 

"My name is Julio Furion, and its been a pleasure meeting you, my boy."

[Rezjal-el]

”œVaegir Renor, and the pleasure's all mine, Julio.”

[Orphan]

"Connect the red wire here...." Kiff spoke to himself beneath his breath as he attempted to splice the security panel leading toward the artifact, his gaze occasionally glancing around to scout his position. "Green wire there... blue wire to black and... Got it!"

 

Suddenly the door hissed as it opened, the override switch engaged and Kiff successfully inside. Now came the thrill of the job, a thrill Kiff had experience seldom before. A he rounded the corner, he saw the room where the artifact lay, ad this emotion overcame him quickly. It was pure ecstasy, to know one could get caught any second with no excuse or reasoning for him to even be there. It was a rush, and Kiff enjoyed it. It was one of the many reasons he took this job.

 

The guards only patrolled the outer perimeter, the foolish owners thinking their own home safe from invasion due to their lowly security system. So Kiff was pretty much in the clear from here. Lightly creeping toward the artifact's room, along the cold durasteel corridor with an occasional shuttered viewport, Kiff still didn't take any foolish chances.

 

"Better to be safe than sorry."

 

Prying the door partially open, a gap wide enough to see in but closed enough that if anyone was inside, they wouldn't notice within the darkened room. Didn't seem that anyone was around, let alone awake. For Kiff had only noticed guards about. The room it's self was a usual study, filled with scrolls, datacards, holocrons and artifacts. But there, amidst the clutter of scrolls and equipment sat his target- The Eye of Hssiss, a lightsaber crystal rumored to have belonged to the Dark Jedi Te'ilk. It was supposedly eight millennia old, maybe older. Checking for possible traps, Kiff reaches toward it.

 

"Halt" A voice screams across the room, lights coming on and blasters arming. A man steps forward, a man Kiff recognizes from the family that hired him, his beady green eyes staring at Kiff with self amusement. "I am sorry Bounty Hunter, but this artifact will never leave here."

 

"I knew i didn't like you for some reason Sha'tel." Kiff replied, his hand gripping tightly the taser stave that had found it's way into his loosened palms. "Does your father know of your treachery?"

 

"No. And he never will, if i have anything to say about it." Sha'tel speaks, his own blaster coming forth and finding aim directed toward Kiff's chest. "You see, your the last Bounty Hunter he'll likely send after the artifact. And as a reward, the current owners have agreed to pay me handsomely as a thanks to my service. So lay down your arms, and i will make sure your life is spared."

 

"And if i don't?" Kiff questions, ready to spring into action the second someone decides to get brave, his glare darting from each of the seven guards that had recently arrived.

 

"Come, Come now." A third voice emerges from a secret door to the far right, the enlarged guy holding a small glass of brandy seeming to be the owner of the estate and artifact. "Surrender, and by tomorrow you will be a free man. I have high friends will considerable pull."

 

It was a difficult decision, for Kiff held very little trust for their words now that their scheme had been revealed. And he knew they would likely let him leave alive now that he knew so much of it. But what could he truly do? If he fought, he wouldn't last but several minutes. But if he surrendered, there was a chance he would at least live to see another day, even if they didn't hold up to their promises. Which wasn't likely to begin with. In the end though, Kiff surrendered, the guards placing him in cuffs.

 

"Excellent, my boy." The third man spoke, slapping Kiff upon the shoulders and grabbing his taser stave from one of the guards. Admiring the weapon, he approaches Sha'tel. without a word he activates it and within seconds Sha'tel is dead and laying upon the floor. "I never did trust him either. Take the Bounty Hunter away and charge him for the murder of Sha'tel O'brith and the attempted Robbery upon my estate."

 

With little words in response, Kiff was dragged away. But as he was, one simple thought echoed within his mind.

 

"What a predicament I've gotten myself into this time. They'll likely execute me in three days time."

[Darth Furion]

Lucky....right.

 

He gave a single silent chuckle at the thought of luck. The boy wouldn't give his true name, of course, but as was the customs of his race. Julio had no illusions that Vaegir wouldn't warm up to his rescuer so easily. Yeah, he had saved his life, but to a Firrereo names held power. No matter. The Sith couldn't really care what the boy wanted to be called. He could have chosen 'Mud' for all it was worth, and it wouldn't have changed a thing.

 

"To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure what called me to your ship." He sipped his wine, relaxed and content with where his path had brought him. Sure it wasn't home, where a large bath and a large library of one of a kind books awaited him as his escape from the world, if only for a little bit. His respite would wait, his body would ache for just a little bit longer. He didn't need rest. The pain didn't matter, the weariness would pass. He was Sith, not some child.

 

"I was on my way home when something pulled me out of hyperspace." He said with a practiced pace, almost as if he had told it a thousand times before. He just took to the story, and let it flow from him naturally. "I wasn't going to sit around in a hyperspace lane while my ship was disabled, and I had a very faint reading. Thought it might be another ship, might have spare parts. Found your ship, hailed it. No one answered, so I figured it derelict. I cut my way into the ship, found out what happened aboard, then scavenged what I could to repair my hyperdrive. I was almost out the door before I decided to check for survivors.

 

The waiter arrived to inform them their stakes would arrive in half an hour, and that complimentary bread would arrive soon. Casting a quick glance at Vaegir and seeing the hunger in his face, Julio caught the waiter before he turned to leave.

 

"A single piece for each of us, please. Don't want to fill up before the good food arrives, neh?"

 

"Very good, sir."

 

He waited only long enough for the waiter to be out of earshot before resuming. "Like I said, I don't really know the why or how of what happened. I don't have all the answers, but I do have a great many. It just depends on the questions you ask."

 

He sipped his wine, the flavors expanding beyond the scope of human perception as the Sith opened himself up to the raw power of the Force. His eyes settled into an ill ease as they rest upon Vaegir, no menace or malevolence in them, but rather depth of wisdom drawn from a source far greater than either of them.

[Orphan]

"Guilty!" barked the Judge as he slammed down his hammer of authority and ended this make believe trial. With a smirk across his human face, his brows raised with silent curiosity as he gathered up his things and left the bench. "Take away the prisoner. My wife's expecting me home for dinner."

 

Kiff, who had sat in silence through the entire trial, looked on at the Judge with a certain expectancy- as if he figured the man would be such a type. After all, it was only the following day since his arrest, and no one was known to rush such things unless truly did not care about the repercussions. The seemingly jolly fellow, ripe and plump in his wife's meals, seemed to care little of the affairs outside his next meal. Being dragged away in chains, Kiff could help but spit upon the pathetic waste of air, a slight chuckle soon erupting as the Judge coward in fear of his meaningless assault.

 

"Truly..." Kiff spoke as the guards pounded upon him for his insult, and began to drag him away at a faster rate upon the Judge's orders. "You sir, are indeed a waste of life, stuffed fat with your wife's cooking and the monetary comfort of your position."

 

Again Kiff was struck, this time sending his mind into the blank realm of the unconscious. But when he awoke, he came face to face with what was seemingly his new home. For on the second level of this compound, Kiff sat within the holding cell surrounded on all sides by the shields of confinement. Truly, he was alone now, tucked away until his life was to end in two days time. Taking the meal that was brought to him, Kiff ate and stared toward his weapon. Even though it was mere feet away hidden within the cache chest, it seemed a lifetime farther.

 

"How am i to get out of this?"

 

Kiff's thoughts were soon interrupted as a guard approached, his yellow beard thick and hanging several inches toward his torso. A devilish smirk crept up across his face, his thick jawline shifting becoming more apparent. Clearing his throat, he looks at Kiff.

 

"Romeo Falcar?" The man questions, his eyes though beady, seems to hold some compassion for Kiff. "Are you prisoner 0074653200-8 a.k.a Romeo Falcar a.k.a Kiff or Kiffar?"

 

"I prefer Kiff, if you please..." Kiff replies, a hint of aggravation present in his voice as he stares toward the man through the blue hue of his holding cell. "Romeo Falcar was a name given to me by Kiffar's State of Census. It holds no bearing to me."

 

"Alright,... Kiff" A hint of not caring enters the guard's tone as he looks down at the datapad he holds in his hand. "I've been ordered here to take your last request, as per New Republic Article Code 774.8, Section 6, Line 42 and grant it- providing it's anything within reason and not an attempt to escape of course."

 

"But of course." Kiff says with a slight chuckle in return to the guard's own at his last remark. "However, i can not think of anything that wouldn't pertain to a means of escape. After all, what besides escape would a condemned man want?"

 

At least Kiff was honest with the man, both of them knowing the truth behind Kiff's so called crime and the severity of the punishment. And in truth, had neither of them placed on opposite sides, a friendship or respect would have grown between these two. But alas, fate had different paths for these two beings. With a quick honorable salute from the guard to Kiff, he makes his exit and leaves Kiff to once again sit in silence within his confinement. If only the guard could provide escape, then Kiff would leave this world and his death behind.

 

"I wonder how long before the sun sets and my final day arrives? Without a viewport, it makes time seem non-existent."

[Rezjal-el]

Well, so much for getting a straight answer out of him. Called by”¦ what?

 

Vaegir mulled it about his mind, realizing full well that he'd have to word his questions carefully. He knew the man that sat before him was no ordinary human. He exuded power, be it through connections, money, or sheer force of charisma. That much was practically written upon the man's face in bright red ink. There was so much the young Firrerreo might have asked that seemed answered within that past vague reply.

 

Again, Vaegir went over the facts in his mind. The man was no scavenger; his ship hardly held enough space for another person let alone salvaged pieces from a derelict ship. Apparently he had found Vaegir as the lone survivor of”¦ five thousand or so other prisoners in identical stasis pods? It was all so”¦ odd. Granted Vaegir was not one to question oddity if it meant he was free from that damned prison ship.

 

Julio obviously wanted something, though the question was ”˜what?' The Firrerreo worked as a merchant for at least a year or two, long enough to learn that nothing was ever truly free, not even apparent acts of kindness. Vaegir held no material wealth, not anymore. He was hardly anyone of note. There was no one to ransom him off to. It wasn't as though the human had simply freed him to just take him to some backwater planet and buy him lunch”¦ was it? At the very least he knew that for now Julio was his life line, and that in their current situation it would be he who called the shots.

 

The waiter's coming and going was hardly acknowledged; except of course when the bread was laid before him. Hunger had never been so apparent to the young Firrerreo, his hands rushing forth to claim the newly arrived bread roll in a fit of animalistic self preservation. Elongated canines tore into the crust of the bread much like the teeth of a feral cat would tear apart the flesh of a fresh kill. Within moments it was consumed into the lad's gullet, though shortly after Vaegir would simply resume his previous posture as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

”œSo”¦ you said something called you? Like a sixth sense or something? I've heard of clairvoyants and others who claim to hold a sort of”¦ second sight. A lot of people who claim to see spirits and what not, but I haven't heard of anyone being ”˜called' into asteroid fields to free complete strangers from hyper sleep.”

[Dagon]

A sudden intense pain burned into Julio's mind as the Dark Lord implanted images and a message into the assassin's head like a laser engraving metal. The will of the Dark Lord was clear, and etched forever into the assassin's mind.

[Guest]

Shadows move with quiet purpose on a world mostly forgotten. They find what they are looking for and collect it with ease, gifting the guardian with a dreamless sleep rather than death, and then they return to the shadows from whence they came, though certain to return shortly.

[Darth Furion]

Pain, so pure and all encompassing, instantly broke through the walls surrounding the young Sith's mind and pressed something deep within the well organized compartments of his memory. The world around him was consumed in the bright intensity of pain and faded away to a lush, vibrant world. The verdant landscape came screaming toward him, narrowing down until he found himself standing at the base of a mountain beside a river bank overlooking a scape of flat green plain expanding a great distance, a forest consuming the rest of his vision. Whispers clung to the edge of his perception, so clear and simultaneously confounding, laced with an underlying power so rich it could only stem from a single source. Whomever held the seat of Dark Lord of the Sith had called upon him, and he was left with a single simple ultimatum. Obey, or be hunted. With this realization came a clarity that brought him back to himself.

 

He awoke with his teeth clenched, his head buried in his hands, and the air in his lungs burning and used up. Pain still lingered dull, but it was already compartmentalized like everything else. He took a deep breath and adjusted his posture, ignoring Vaegir's shocked expression as he exhaled and continued to control his breathing. A soft spoken mantra parted from his lips before he met the young lad's eyes.

 

"I don't have much time." He said between long, controlled breaths, still working to put his pain in its place. "I can not give you the answers you're looking for....yet.

 

His face fell grave, his gilded eyes boring into the young Firrereo, pressing the importance of the Sith's words.

 

"You hold your fate in your hands now. Amongst the many you can make on your own, I will give you two options. Take this cred chip." He paused as he slid a small chip across the table. "It can give you a start to a new life. What you do with your life is up to you entirely."

 

He let the words sink in. A new life, no attachment, no direction. Completely free. Yet the boy was lost, and direction was perhaps the only think he really needed. Only time would tell.

 

"Or you can continue the path I've started. There is a man here on this planet, calling to me just as you had. I believe he is in prison, betrayed by those who sought to use him. Find him and free him as I did you. Take the credits I've given you and buy a ship. When you leave this place, head to a planet called Trulalis. I will find you."

 

Ezra landed on the restaraunt's roof ten meters from the table, the marble floor cracking under the mech's great weight. With his options laid before him, Julio left Vaegir to his meal. Two great steps and the Sith sprung into the air and landed in the cockpit, no small feat considering it a twenty foot jump.

 

"Whatever you decide, don't leave that wine behind."

 

Without another word, the mech leaped into the sky, fading away until it was lost from sight.

[Rezjal-el]

Vaegir simply stared on as his rescuer and newfound”¦ friend”¦ entered a mental episode. It was all a rather inconvenient time too, seeing as the waiter arrived only to drop the nerf steaks onto the ground in sheer shock due to the mech's less than graceful landing. The platter hit the ground with a loud crash, glass shattering, meat and rice flying in all directions. The lowly waiter cowered, hands covering his head as he looked from the departing ship to the golden skinned lad left sitting in a booth with only a bread roll and a cred stick sitting before him.

 

”œWhat”¦ the”¦ hell?”

[Orphan]

"How did i get myself into this?" Kiff questioned himself out loud as he laid back on the cold duracrete floor that sat below him, no bed nor chair to rest upon. "Why did i have to take that blasted bounty. I knew it seemed too simple."

 

Kiff thought back to that day he first found the listed bounty on the god forsaken planet, having drank away most of his day's earnings. Twenty five thousand credits seemed like a good idea for a simple artifact, almost too to be true. And in his drunken stupor, contacted the guy. Kiff could damn near slap himself for even thinking of it. Stroking his hand through his hair, he looked off into he distance again at his weapon. If only there was a way to reach it. It would mean his life to him... literally.

 

"If only these walls didn't have such a hold on me. Or if i could wield t Force just as they say the Jedi do...."

 

His thoughts were interrupted as the guard from before entered, his large hands grasping a plate filled with food that nearly fell from it's rim. He approaches, a small slit in the barrier dropping momentarily to allow the food through before it shut once more.

 

"I thank you for your kindness stranger." Kiff spoke as he took a bite of the meat and quickly chewed it up to make room for a bite of the bread loaf. "If only i could persuade you to lower the barrier and allow my freedom."

 

"Please, you can call me Rouke." He said with a laughing jest, his hands finding their way to his waist as he leaned back to release the haunting urge. "Aye, i wish i could. But you can leave this place behind, i can't."

 

"Indeed. I wouldn't wish any harm on you." Kiff said with a kind smile, something considered a rare sight. "It's certainly a shame we did not meet on better circumstances."

 

There was a long silence that transpired over the next few seconds, both not really knowing how to continue the conversation- a subject of dire endings and regret. Kiff finished most of the meal while Rouke simply sat and watched in silence. Finally the large guard spoke.

 

"No family?" Rouke questioned, his brow folding downward as he speaks. "No place to call home?"

 

"No." Kiff replies, his mouth full of vegetation and meat. "I've been and Orphan for as long as i can remember, and the life kind of just stuck with me as i grew older. I do odd jobs and bounties to make a day by day living, but i never stay in one place for long."

 

"Must be a sad life, then?" Rouke reaches into his pocket, walks over to the same slit he placed the food through, and hands Kiff a small picture of him and his family. "My wife, Katrina.... and daughter, Ariana."

 

"Beautiful bunch" Kiff replies as he looks it over and hands it back, though he only partially means it. He's never understood what a family means to anyone, never having one of his own. "They must be proud of you."

 

"Aye, they are." Rouke states, his head hanging slightly, as if pride and shame both held a hold upon him. "Though i dunno why. I condemn men, innocent or guilty."

 

He looks over at Kiff at he mention of innocent, who had finished his meal a now laid the empty tray near the slit. Rouke walks over, grabbing the tray and begins to exit. Before he does though, he speaks to Kiff once more.

 

"You are in my prayers, Kiff." He speaks, a mound of displeasure upon his face. "I just hope the gods find someway to free you before tomorrow comes."

 

"Thank you Rouke." Kiff says, adding a nod of his head. "I see now why they are proud of you. Your a good man, Rouke."

 

With those words, the two part ways, leaving Kiff once again alone. His belly full, he lays upon the floor once more and nods off. Tomorrow would certainly mean his end.

[Montjoy]

Granta Omega sighed as he began to alter his course in hyperspace and set a new destination for Gala. He had wandered the stars now for too many years, he had finally made his decision... He was going to join the Alliance... He had tried to work for other factions, but his ideals always seemed to line up with the Alliances, a mark which he should have seen sooner.

 

He entered in Gala's coordinates into the navi-computer and sat back to enjoy the ride to the base on which he would enlist...

[Cleric]

The ship carrying Derrik Galen Reynolds zipps through the friction less, dark universe......heading to Coruscant

[Rezjal-el]

The stroll about the city's streets had proven to be a rather fortunate one. Vaegir had been wandering merely whim, finding himself in what passed for the shopping district. Every shop was rather drab, but to someone who possessed only a jumpsuit they provided much in the way of improvements.

 

Brown or grey? Don't they have clothes in ANY other colors?

 

After a lengthy indulgence in the merchant quarter, Vaegir found himself a brand new set of clothes along with a few key essentials such as a wrist mounted data-pad and comm-link. It was with a smirk the Firrerreo tossed his burned prison jumpsuit into the trash, feeling a sense of accomplishment as though the act represented a great change in his life. He now strode a free man, donning a dark grey hooded jacket, a white button up shirt and a pair of blue cargo pants. He may not have looked very impressive, but truly it was an improvement.

 

Julio had better only be expecting about half of his money back”¦

 

As the day passed, he mulled about in his thoughts, paying little detail as to which direction he had been walking. All he knew was that he wanted to leave this backwater little mudball of a planet. The ”˜local color' was beginning to get to him, as were the stares his obviously golden tinted skin attracted. At the very best he could simply claim to be overly tanned, most of the local idiots bought that lie hook, line, and sinker.

 

So... free a man I've never met as a favor for another man I knew only for a couple of days”¦ yeah, that's a REAL appealing idea”¦

 

He went over the past day's events once more in his head. His planet, probably on the other side of the galaxy, its fate unknown. Those aboard the ship with him”¦ gone. His current situation was only a mild improvement. He had just played accomplice to property damage and theft, had left a man with a sizable concussion if not dead in the back alley of a restaurant, and while he had some money he had no idea just where to catch a ride off this horrid planet.

 

He came to a fork in the road, having long since stopped paying attention to just where he was headed. Violet hued eyes would gaze up at the daunting sight of the local prison's walls.

 

Hah... hah... no... he burst into a short fit of laughter, staring incredulously at the outside of the penal facility.

 

Quickly he turned on his heels, shaking his head as though arguing with himself. He had found the prison by accident, he had to. It was stupid to think otherwise. Instead he opted to take a left on the street, heading off in a northern direction. There was no way Vaegir was going to risk his neck in freeing a man from prison.

 

The further he walked, the harder it became to ignore the numerous signs and short video commercials advertising the impending execution of a man named Romeo Falcar. The Kiffar's face was splayed quite plainly in the many ads along with a rather annoying bit of musical fanfare. ”œBuy your tickets today!”

Edited January 22, 2010 by Guest

[Orphan]

Kiff is awoken by the guards entrances, followed by several parishioners. Jumping to his feet, he surveys each as they pass, noticing nobles to commoners amongst the group. Curious he wondered for a moment as to why they had approached him in such a way, causing young Kiff to feel no more than a common beast placed on display for the amusement of others. His anger boiled even more once he realized this to be true.

 

"Mother?" Asked a young boy who stood near the front of the group beside a woman dressed in fine garments and wore exquisite jewelry, not doubt his mother. "Why are we here to see this man?"

 

Because my child, he is a murderer." She replied, a soft look upon her face for her son. But as she turned to look Kiff in the eye, he saw no more than fascination in her cold gaze. "And i payed good money to see what he looked like with his head still attached."

 

Kiff merely grin in response to her words, a slight chuckle erupting. Seeing this amused Kiff, one of the station guards activated a control switch which sent electricity through the cell. Kiff, never loosing his grin nor his gaze upon the woman, dropped to his knees a the pain over came him.

 

"Look at him" Shouted a man near the back, his cloths speaking of a traveling merchant or smuggler, though Kiff knew him to likely be from this back water planet. "He's no more than a beast i tell you. Not even in the face of death, does he realize it."

 

A few people laugh at the mans words, even a few of the guards. But off to the side sits Rouke, shame glistening within his eyes at the notion of Kiff's displaying. He simple sits there, a gaze of sorrow and remorse, unable to lift one finger in Kiff's defense. Kiff simply smiles at Rouke, as if saying that he held no need for the shame the others bring upon themselves.

 

Within moments the group leaves and another arrives, Kiff's last day filling of the same process over and over again as it wears down to mere hours. All the while, Kiff's anger and hatred grows. If only he was to be released for mere seconds. There would surely be reckoning.

[Slicer]

He leaned back his his pilot chair. To the galaxy at large this being this was seemingly asleep at the helm was no doubt the bounty hunter known as Slicer. In a way they were right. In another way they were quite wrong. Yet it mattered very little, as he swiveled in his pilot chair, allowing the technicolor lanes of hyperspace fall to his back. This ship was but a copy of the one the bounty hunter used, and the man at the helm was no man at all. He simply was in the bounty hunter's mine the greatest pinnacle of technology man could achieve. The ultimate affront against nature, as technology advanced in every way, he was like man 2.0 in the eyes of the creator. It summoned up his mind set quite perfectly. It was a shame that this pinnacle of technology would be so easily sacrificed if need be. With five kilos of explosive stored in his internal storage ready to explode on command should the entire thing go sour.

 

Not even the Imperial agent who had remained silent this far into the journey would have been able to detect the deception. Especially since the entire ship was covered by the Yalsamari. With six of the creatures total, placed through out the ship in nutrient dishes, they created a force free environment for the ship. They also hid the ship from force users, which would be useful in and off itself later. Though they were not permanent additions to the ship. They were simply a means to the mission, with each one being assigned to a passenger on board of the ship. There was one for himself. There was one for the shape shifter, there was one for the imperial agent, and that only took up three of six. At least two of the sets of droids would be equipped with on. Given how he had brought twelve of the droids, and they could stack on each other that meant that at least six droids would be void from force effects as he had them grouped in threes.

 

They were wonderful droids however, with a forward and backwards mounted cannons that launched light cannon rounds at their foes. They were in a way multipurpose. Perhaps not great on the open battle field for many reasons, but in close quarters fighting hey were a supreme force to have. Able to control a single hallway, with rounds able to punch through durasteel with ease. In a single corridor they could hold down the fort alone by themselves. With their ability to stack upon each other in a max group of for by most effective at three, it was like building a better droid. One with three cannons facing a forward and three backwards, allowing for a constant volley on positions, which would both pin down enemies and chip away at the strongest of covers. Yet that was really only their secondary features. They were first and foremost mobile bombs. With four legs as well as treds they could switch to, so they could traverse just about any surface, they backed a payload in their interior. The payload could be switched out with whatever type of ordnance the buyer wished to have placed in. At the moment he was going with some standard explosives. After all he was expecting a ground war, and he had every intention of dispersing these fellas around the base and detonating them. Each one had a decent blast radius. They had enough explosives in side to wipe out everything in a twenty five meter radius. Which was only slightly more destructive than a class a thermal detonator. This was their field test. He found he would test such droids personally in battle, before allowing them on the open market. A successful test meant a successful sale down the road no doubt.

 

He glanced around at the beings infront of him. He had snagged an extra beserker rifle not for himself but for the shape shifter. The Imperials hadn't armed the creature so he had taken liberties to do so. Using no standard weapons was always a good call when moving into enemy territory with so little information. The Imperial had bought all of his own stuff, which had only increased the sales at the gunshop. That in itself was good. He would no doubt team the Imperial agent with the shapeshifter, as he was unsure of ether's skill level and would rather not be stuck baby sitting if he could help it. It was bad enough the shapeshifter had a bomb implanted in her head. A smart move for the imperials, Annoying for him as he had no idea what would trigger it and when, and had no idea the blast yield about it. It could be dangerous to him, it might not be. Either way it was something to keep an eye on.

 

Despite the relatively low amount of intel he had, he had a plan. He had had a little time to formulate it, which was not his usual way of action. He normally tried to have various numerous plans. As it was he barley had more than two extraction plans. Not that it mattered. The Imperial who had given him the job, had assured him that in their own special ways neither agent would truly be missed. He had no idea the type of politics that were going on, but the imperial agent seemed to carry the pose of a rather high ranking individual. The shapeshifter seemed like a rather invaluable if flirtatious and reckless tool. Then again he himself wasn't as concerned with getting out as he should be. If he was on a planet if push came to shove no doubt he would be able to fashion a ride some how.

 

Hmm team seems as solid as I am going to get them, might as well fill them in on the plan I have currently. Maybe they will have some input as well.

 

Slicer had twice infiltrated the borelis dojo. It was a Jedi hdieaway that had served him well, and had perhaps been the site of one of his greatest assassinations to date. The first time he was there, he had downloadd and transferred the medical records for various jedi who has passed through the medical facilities there. Which were quite extensive as it had the ability to clone fallen warrior it seemed. He had also been on other jedi bases which had proved equally useful. Can't say he hadn't bene in republic bases and done the same. Yet more importantly he once had the subject he was going to have the shapeshifter turn into captured. He had broken into the beings mind, defeated him, and eventually brought him to his knees, caged him up, had him analyzed, shaved and turned over to imperials. Back in the day they really were the only consistent group who put out bounties. Or at least this was all his recollections were telling him he had done.

 

He was using the one way to receive and transmit through hyperspace with ease that he knew of to access his database but shortly afterwords, he had all the information he needed and passed it to the shapeshifter, as he turned around in his pilot chair to face the group.

 

”œThere, that will be the form you will be assuming. What Intel I have, tells me, that this could potential work in our favor if for the confusion factor alone. As such Change not from this form as often as possible.”

[Keenava Dira]

wrong alias ))

[Leialla Clia Madornja]

"Spicy are we?" Leialla said during his oration with a coy wink, but as to his final statement it ruffled her slightly.

 

"I do have a name y'know... And what pray-tell do you think my ability entails hunter?" finished Leialla with a rather snide irritation. "It should be only a second if you are so impatient; the hard part will be copying his mannerisms." Within a glance Leialla captured the entire figure of her target and began to change rapidly. Her muscles pulsed, her body grew and her sex invariably changed within a hefty process that took exactly a minute. Leialla sat in her same position but now she was a good deal taller, a lot more harrier and felt like breaking something in half.

 

"Who knew this hairy things could feel so awkward in their own hair," checked Leialla as she scratched at herself trying to relieve an odd itch. "Is this what you wanted Hunter? Or should I grab a lightsabre to have more proof for our needs?" labored Leialla through a now low and gravely growling roar. "I suppose I'll have to get used to this... *sigh* Well, I'll read up on him and see if I can't have my relative habits and mannerisms learned by the time we reach our destination.

 

Leialla looked out towards the stars, their hyperspace distortion hearkening back to years and years of space travel back in her heyday. It's not like she really needed to stay here... She could all up and decide to leave, blow up this whole project and inevitably end right back up on Coruscant where she had her DNA cloned prior to her imperial incursion, but either way... IF she died or not, she'd be back and there would be nothing to confuse that fact.

 

However, even if her traveling companions were insufferably dull, she figured if she survived she might get some cool contacts to use later...

[Slicer]

""Un ni joka shapa-keesay. Chess ko shapa-keesay." He made sure the shape shifter understood his attention was now focused at her/him. Shaking his head slowly he spoke once more.

"Keel-ee calleya ku kah."

 

He typed in a few things on a datapad and one of his A.I came to life, willing to speak for him so he wouldn't be forced to make such disgusting noises. It was like having a translator, for as he spoke the basic, the shyriwwok equivalent came out.

"Ah aoacoohurracao rooohu ohoohuanwa raao anworacao rhwo wwanhuwowhao ahwh cacrorcahahohooooor

 

waahwa aoacwo woscakahrcwo wwoorcrrwoao aoacahc akrarcaoahoahuanrarc wwoorcwocahrracao? ahao ahc ooww whoo oaoowhcworqhuwowhoawo, ah waoohurhao aoacwo corahanan ohahanan rhwo ooww cooscwo hucwo. caoahanan rroooowa anhuoaor oaooakroahwhrr acahc scrawhwhworcahcscc. aoacoohurrac ah waoohurhao acwo coarcraaooaacwoc acahsccwoanww ahwh akhurhanahoa.

 

He smiled behind his helmet not to the benefit of anyone however. Almost as a joke to the shape shifter in the cockpit a song suddenly sprang to life. As Lapti Nek started to play, he had to wonder just how much the Shape shifter understood what had been said. If he was about to go into battle with the creature, it would at least be helpful to know some of its abilities. His mind had long ago began processing what kind of shape shifter the creature must be, given the time of transformation, and the way it had been performed. Saying he had narrowed it down to a handful of species wasn't saying much given how there was only a handful to start with.

 

"Though you have a point. Why don't you fill me in on what you can do. Feel free to introduce yourself as well."

[Jeng Droga]

* The Lost, being controlled by Dealer, enters Hyper space. Towards Rodis City, Jeng before kneeing into his meditation stands pushes a button to the helm. *

 

Jeng: Dealer, how long till we regroup with the others

 

Dealer: With in one standard hour Lord.

 

Jeng: Contact Sith Master Slicer, inform him of our arrival and give him a ETA.

 

Dealer: As you wish my lord.

 

* Jeng closed his eyes and focused for the battle ahead of him the death and the sacrifice for the Dark side he must be willing for the greater good of the Empire and his Sith Lord. *