The Shadow's Gambit

[Raynuk Montar]

Quietus listened to the story that Emerald told, showing only a vague amount of interest in the story itself. Between keeping his identity hidden from this woman, and the sheer amount of time that had passed, he simply could not allow himself to care. The characters in her story were ghosts of Quietus' past, before he even was Darth Quietus. His own recollection of those years was hazy; he had died several times since then, and the natural progression of time had done little to help. The story had however, given Quietus confirmation to a few of the longstanding assumptions he had made. The 'Jedi girl' had gone back to that fool of a Jedi, and there was a child. Whether that child still breathed to this day didnt really matter to Quietus though, nor did the fate of the parents. When Emerald had finished telling her story, Quietus merely nodded.

 

"Quite the story. As for your so called 'sealed chapter' ? I could care less about the fate of those you stole from. And considering your fate is in my hands, you'll have to come up with something else to leverage with. Your confidence is misplaced to assume that anyone, Sith or otherwise, controls me. I answer only to myself. And that, little pixie, makes me a very dangerous man. Im afraid, there will be no rescue for you, Sith or otherwise."

 

Quietus grinned knowingly; knowing that she was rapidly running out of maneuvering room, running out of rogue and sassy comebacks. He had half a mind to push her until she had nothing left to offer up as payment or incentive. In the end however, Quietus had an entire luxury cruise ship to govern over, and more important things to do than to play around with a mouse who was trapped. He approached her and cupped his hand under her chin, lifting it slightly so he knew he had her full attention.

 

"I am however, a gracious man. I built this ship, a luxury flying casino ship, for the entertainment of the galaxy... I am a gracious man. I will take what you have given me, your story, your proposal, your desire to be in contact with the Sith, and most importantly, this whip... I will take it all, and I will pass it along to my friend in the SIth. What he does with it is up to him, and I make no promises. In the meantime, I have a ship to run. Until next time little pixie..."

 

Quietus jerked her chin to the side as he let go of her, a knowing grin crossing his face as he turned and left the cell, the massive door slamming shut behind him. Once outside, Quietus retrieved his belongings and began replacing them in the appropriate locations. The meeting with the blonde had proven fruitful in a number of ways; he now knew why she had so brazenly staged an attack on his ship, knew that she was part of a group, and had learned details about the source of the neural whip. The whip was still before him, the weapon that had been taken from the pirate now rested solely in the possession of Quietus. The more that he began thinking about it, the more the realization hit Quietus about the timing of all of this. It was now, after Darth Eris had grown distant and chilly to Quietus before leaving on her own journey, that the ghosts of his own past, perhaps the only other woman Quietus had cared for, had come up. If nothing else, the circumstances were a test of Quietus resolve and conviction; to himself, to the Sith, and to Eris. It was a test that the Sith Master would not so much as falter in, let alone fail. Gripping the neural whip in his hand, Quietus looked at it once more and then turned to a nearby guard.

 

"You there, get the prisoner some clothing and some food. The last thing I need on my hands is a dead pirate queen who also happens to be nude!"

 

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About fifteen minutes after the door had slammed shut, it opened again, revealing one of the countless, and mostly faceless security guards posted aboard the ship. This guard however, was at least female, a strategic move made more for the safety of the prisoner than anything else; normal men tended to react more like devolved apes around nude women than their female counterparts. This security guard brought with her two items and placed them down in the middle of the cell without a word before turning to walk back out the door, pausing for only a moment to look over her shoulder at Emerald and smile faintly as if to say "Im sorry" before regaining her composure and making a hasty retreat out the cell door again.

 

With the slamming of the door, Emerald was alone again in the cell, except now she was joined by a tray of fairly normal looking food, a far cry from what most 'prisoners' would be fed, and a neatly folded pile of cloth. The food was fresh and required no utensils, thus also giving the pirate woman nothing to use as a weapon or tool. The cloth, as it turned out, was a decent quality, form fitting sleeveless white dress that would come down to just above Emerald's knees. As soon as Emerald picked it up, a female voice came on over the intercom; clearly she was being watched from somewhere.

 

"He thought it would suit your style, given what we confiscated from your belongings and your Hapan origins... It came from some starlet who made an ill advised bet of it at one of our gambling tables. Needless to say, she lost the bet. He said it should fit you nicely; apparently he sized you up while he was in there talking to you."

 

As the saying goes, the house always wins.

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

As Quietus explained where Karys went wrong during the duel he couldn't help but agree after some thought into the matter. He hated himself for missing key points and showing his weakness in front of the Sith, however he vowed he would not do so again and just as he did he heard the words. Words which were ageless, timeless and as ancient as his species. Words which held true power and meaning which if he deciphered right would unlock his shackles from the galaxy and make him the god he wished to be to his people and whom would show the galaxy that some things are best not left forgotten.

 

First he heard the words in sithese. Words which seemed to awake something deep within the massassi at his core.

 

Miers ir meli; Tur ir tikai aizraušanās.

Ar aizrautību, es gūt spēku.

Ar spēku, es iegūt varu.

Izmantojot varu, es gūt uzvaru.

Caur uzvaru, mans ķēdēm ir sadalīti.

Spēks nosaka mani bez maksas.

 

And then again he heard them in basic.

Peace is a lie; There is only passion.

Through passion, I gain Strength.

Through Strength, I gain Power.

Through Power, I gain Victory.

Through Victory, my chains are broken.

The Force shall set me free.

 

Normally such words would have had no such affect upon the massassi, however these words were different. He allowed himself to consume them and decipher them in his own way and through them he began....slowly to understand the context of the words and from that experience something dark began to take form in him. Dark thoughts and passions were seemingly available all at once or so it seemed to him at least. It was a feeling he wished to keep and as such he sought to remember the words and engrave them upon his dark soul. These words he would remember, for he knew his master did not speak them lightly just as he explained the reason why Karys failed. Those words too hit home and he swore he would not be so blind again. It was at that moment the lesson came to it's sudden end, Karys was certain his master was about to punish him however allowed breath to escape his lip ever so slightly as he was spared. Clearly the force had seen to it he would be spared this time but for what reason he would soon know. And with that on his mind as with all he had learnt in the lesson he followed his master to the bridge.

 

=========================================================================================================

 

Karys found it mildly amusing when the two Sith arrived at how quickly the good captain divulged all he knew on the situation that had developed. But that feeling quickly turned to one of disgust at how easily he had allowed his men to let the Chiss evade capture. Quietus it seemed was more forgiving of the situation however Karys knew had he been the one in charge he would not be so quite forgiving of the man or of the men involved in the operation, to him such incompetence was a sign of weakness. And the Sith had no time for such weakness. However it was not his call to spare the man or not, that was to be his master's decision and soon he made it. As Captain Kira relayed what he thought the group were planning to do Karys couldn't help but allow his anger to simmer on the surface. That these...filth thought they could rob the Sith, not just any sith but his master of all people and by extension himself and remain unharmed...that made his blood boil. However he did admire the method by which they had attempted it with the string of pearls explosives and the hidden comm receiver even if in the end it was doomed to fail as well as the gall they had to even try to attempt to rob the Sith. It spoke volumes of their confidence in their abilities but to Karys it simply told him they simply didn't know when enough was enough. In this case they underestimated their competition and would now pay the price for it.

 

The massassi was quick to notice how Quietus demeanor changed when he approached the neural whip. It seemed he had a history of some sort with that particular weapon, but Karys couldn't quite grasp just how. It would be a question he would perhaps if his master permitted him to ask, ask later and allow him to satisfy his curiosity. And then his master turned to face him, his facial expression spoke more than his words ever could. He meant business and Karys was only to happy to please at being informed this was his second test. Albeit this test would have far more fatal results should he fail and thus he vowed to not fail. He would prove he was worthy of being a Sith and more importantly of being Quietus apprentice. Clenching his fists he approached the captain while securing his weapons. He would need them if what he thought of the Chiss was true. From what he saw of the camera footage she knew how to handle herself in a fight, which was good enough for him. He enjoyed prey which fought back.

 

Karys regarded Quietus instructions. He noted that his master neglected to mention in just what condition she had to be returned, only that she be returned alive to him. This brought a slight grin to the massassi as he thought of the possibilities of just how to catch his prey. Listening to Captain Kira, Karys began to form a rough picture of just where his prey was most likely to be based upon her last known location. He let the captain continue to explain every detail while hiding his contempt for the man from him, playing to the same facade he had used so many times before and making the captain think he was not angry at him still for failing to capture the girl on his own without the help of the two sith. It was a hidden rage. As Captain Kira read the latest security report out and scanned for any news on the fugitive, Karys heard the ping of the comm system and listened in. So they were now on the move, this improved his chances. Now she truly had very few places to run and hide especially when the ship was moving and headed to the deep of space. It would be quite a long journey which would give him some leeway he could use against his prey.

 

Karys informed the captain of his plan to disguise himself as a technician and attempt to navigate the vents starting where she disappeared and as such requested that the captain have his men secretly bring his weapons and hide them in one of the alcoves near to where his target was last seen without gaining the attention of the guests as instructed by Quietus. He knew no-one on the ship had likely seen his species before so he could use that and he could easily walk about the ship working to his role with little trouble and then secretly separate himself from the general crowd as to better track and capture his target without alerting too much suspicion. Especially when he was unarmed, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. He doubted even his target had seen a massassi before except maybe in a ruin somewhere depicted in a battle scene of some type or shown seemingly worshiping depictions of ancient sith. Most hadn't seen one until now.

 

Karys spoke again to the captain, making the threat very real of just what he expected of the man. And just what Quietus expected of them both.

 

''Captain, see if you can't commandeer me a technician's clothing and have it brang to my suite. I shall then proceed, you meanwhile will wait for further instructions. Have your men be ready to move at a moment's notice into position once she is located. Then we shall contain her. We must not alert our quarry to me or your men however. Or we shall both lose our heads.''

[Emerald]

This was getting confusing.

 

Emerald tried to process all of what had just occurred as she pulled the dress on, zipped it up to find an irritatingly perfect fit, and curled back up in the corner of the cell. The food they had brought was no plain water and stale bread: exotic fruits, rich cheeses, soft, warm flatloaf, and a small plastisynth decanter of what looked like Coruscanti pomrra-vine ferment. This was VIP buffet material, and it was being brought to her in her cell. The alarm bells in the back of her mind warned her to have nothing to do with it, suggesting poison, or some other trap. But, no, if he'd wanted to kill her, the mysterious man would have done so already. The food, the dress, carefully crafted to her highbrow and exotic tastes, suiting everything to her Hapan origins--

 

Then it hit her.

 

Hapan origins.

 

He knew where she was from.

 

In a panic, Emerald's mind raced over the conversation. Had she let it slip? Had he read her mind? She hadn't given him any details about their organization, other than the desire for anonymity. No, he had to have read her mind. Her mental defenses, her carefully focused attentions, must not have been good enough. He was the Sith. She knew it; he had to be. The ounce of carefully hidden Force sensitivity within her had been sparkling since he entered the cell.

 

Then it hit her, and her heart sank. No, she had told him. In her arrogance, in her haste to tease him with her knowledge, she had revealed her paternity. My father's a Hapan physician. It rang in her mind, taunting her. Suddenly restless, she stood, pacing her cell in bare feet. The near certainty that she was under constant surveillance was the only thing that halted her from raining frustrated blows into the stark walls. Losing control wouldn't help her case in the least.

 

So, she was wrong. He wasn't the Sith. Was he holding her here so that he could bring his "friend" to see her, then? Had she completely borked her chances? She hadn't given him her real name, or the name of her organization, so what hard evidence did he plan to pass on? Why was he so quick to leave her, with only a raspy windpipe and mild bruises to show for his interrogation? His demeanor, the way he carried himself, his lack of bedside manner: these all destroyed the illusion that he was any kind of ship administrator. Or at the very least, he couldn't possibly have any kind of human resources position.

 

But what if he was? She wasn't quite willing to let that possibility go. The shielding techniques she had learned should have been enough to block the extraction of that kind of specific information by any mind-probing wizardry.

 

So he'd be back. That much was certain.

 

Having completed several circuits around her small cell, the blonde's mind continued to spin as she found her corner once again and began nibbling idly at bits of the provided hors d'oeuvres. If this deal was going south, if it wasn't going to work, she wanted to get out as fast as possible, even to the degree of having Ruby attempt some ill-advised escape plan. But if there was the slightest possibility that this could work, that it could generate protection, or even jobs, for the Blood Gems--it might end up being dirty work, but, she considered with a wry grin, it wasn't like they had a pesky moral center to hold them back. An escape plan would certainly foil any positive effect of this stupid insertion. And what would a Sith do with the information that she had given, as scant as it was? Her story about the Jedi was true, mostly. She hadn't taken the whip from the bedside table of the laboring woman, though she had seen it there; she had seen it later, in the possession of a former acquaintance, and relieved her of the burden of carrying it after learning what it was and what it could do.

 

And how did the kriffing interrogator know what it was, or how to use it? That secret she had hunted relentlessly, and it had taken nearly all the resources she could conjure to unlock the secret of Slaanesh's Champion. No, this man wasn't just dangerous, or just powerful, whatever he claimed to be. There was something more to him than that.

 

But all of this speculation added up to nothing, and as time ticked on Emerald began to find herself plainly irritated. He hadn't told her when he'd be back, and she wasn't one to relish sitting in solitary confinement, especially not when her friend could potentially be in danger of landing in the same situation, but with less leverage. Looking up at the ceiling, she began to scan for likely sources of holocams, and pondered the wisdom of yelling for attention. Pity she hadn't thought to bring her false cyanide. That would have gotten her out of this room in a hurry.

 

The desire to comm Ruby was turning into an itch she knew she couldn't scratch. Her friend was plainly still free aboard the Gambit, and Emerald wanted her to stay that way. But for someone who dealt in information, not knowing what was going on outside was a particularly frustrating situation. Though, she acknowledged, this frantic musing certainly wasn't getting her anywhere, much less outside her cell and onto the next job.

 

Willing her mind to stillness, she rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand and tossed back the entire decanter of pommra-vine. Curling up on her side, hoping to ward off the chilly barrenness of the room, she closed her eyes in a likely futile attempt to sleep, simply another way to pass the time until her well-muscled interrogator should return.

[Raynuk Montar]

As Quietus stalked through the halls of his massive ship, he made a point to check in with Captain Kira to get the latest updates; updates on the status of the ship and how it was running, updates on the estimated arrival time at their next planetary stop, and updates on the search for the companion of their current prisoner. The Captain was thorough in his report to Quietus, even relaying the plan that the Sith's apprentice had come up with. It was, as Quietus thought it through, an adequate plan; he had half expected Karys to opt for a more direct approach, namely tearing the ship apart with his bare hands. The only downside was the possibility that results in the matter would take a fair amount of time. The Captain and Karys seemed to have everything under control in the ship upkeep and manhunt departments, which left Quietus with the ability to keep his mind focused on the prisoner.

 

After giving the Captain a figurative pat on the head, Quietus altered his course through the ship's hallways. He first turned his stroll towards his own personal accommodations; a massive suite that would otherwise be reserved for the likes of galactic leaders. It was separated from most of the other cabins, even the high-class ones, and offered a select few amenities that no other room had; namely a secret 'escape' passage to a nearby corridor that would otherwise take fifteen minutes to get to. But for now, the goal of Darth Quietus, Sith Master and feared enemy of the Jedi, was simple; feed his dog.

 

It was with some regret that Quietus had come to realize that while this whole interrogation had been going on, and his spar with Karys before that, his loyal pet tuk'ata, Vex'aedr, had been left neglected in his quarters. To say that the beast was annoyed by it would be an understatement; the tuk'ata nearly bowled Quietus over as soon as he opened the door, growling and snarling constantly in an attempt to express its frustrations and displeasure. Quietus however, wasted little time reminding Vex’aedr just who was the master and who was the pet in their relationship. Once the tuk’ata was sufficiently subdued and calmed down, Quietus turned around and showed Vex’aedr a great deal of affection; scratching the beast’s neck behind the ears and giving its massive chest a few hearty pats on the side. For as much as the tuk’ata was a beast that was best not trifled with, it was still Quietus’ loyal companion and pet, no matter the circumstances of his life.

 

After spending a few minutes catching up with the tuk’ata, Quietus set about feeding the massive hunger that the tuk’ata had worked up in his absence. A pile of fresh meat of all shapes and origins was ordered and delivered to his quarters. The pile was shortly devoured by the nearly six foot tall white tuk’ata, all while Quietus watched in amusement. Once Vex’aedr had finished and was subsequyently satisfied with the meal. Quietus was again on the move. This time, he brought the tuk’ata with him, utilizing the escape passage to bypass a fair amount of the ship on the way to his next destination.

 

The next destination as it turned out, was the massive hanger bay that all of the passengers had arrived in, which was also where Quietus’ personal ship. The Ovariv II was sitting. Having been moved to a back corner to clear the most amount of space for the civilian shuttles, the ship was most likely forgotten about by most, if it had even been spotted in the first place. At this time of day, and at this point in the journey, the hanger bay was fairly empty, having only a few sporadic workers in it. While Quietus felt no real need to sneak around his own ship, he was smart enough to know that having Vex’aedr close behind as he navigated the corridors might cause a bit of a stir. So with no real intent upon being seen, Quietus made his way quietly to the Ogariv II and boarded it, with Vex’aedr close behind. Once inside the ship, the real work began.

 

Quietus had listened to Emerald’s proposal and story closely, and knew that there was little that would satisfy the woman besides getting her face to face with a Sith. He had, however, played his cards carefully to not imply that he was the very thing that she was seeking. Now though, there was little else that he could do but to give her what she wanted. But like many Sith in the past had done, he would choose to keep his identity as a Sith a secret in a sense. She had seen this mortal face, and heard his voice. But to deliver a Sith, Quietus would have to do something about both of those. Even his physical presence might tip off someone like her. And he was not willing to tip his identity fully just yet.

 

And so Quietus had come to his personal ship seeking another relic of his past; one of three things that he still possessed as a reminder of his time as an apprentice and Sith Lord; reminders of his time studying under, and then standing side by side with his Master, Barohm Zar. Quietus knew that what he was seeking was somewhere on his ship, but it was an item that he had little practical use for since it came to his possession. Up until now, it had served only as a memory of the times before Zar was lost in battle.

 

For the next forty minutes, Quietus carefully dug through the contents of his ship, checking every compartment and container from stem to stern until he found what he was looking for. Finally he did just that, finding it in an old lockbox tucked away in a corner of his bunk room. Even then, the item was near the bottom of the container, under old robes and other knick-knacks. But once he found it, Quietus felt waves of relief, sadness, and anger wash over him. Pulling the item out, he spent a fair amount of time just looking at it and remembering.

 

The object was a mask; one created from the human skull of a teen-aged humanoid, a humanoid that had been flayed alive by Barohm Zar. The mask soon became the visage of Barohm Zar as he plagued the galaxy as Darth Excruciation. Quietus in turn had found the item left behind on the ancient Sith Temple on Korriban following the attack by the Tiamat bugs on the planet that forced the evacuation of the Temple and the subsequent destruction of the planets atmosphere. It was one of the first things that Quietus had found following the final victory over the Tiamat on Kashyyyk; a victory that had cost Quietus the life of Barohm Zar. It was an item that Quietus found when the wound of that loss was still fresh and painful. And so Quietus took the mask as another item to preserve the legacy of his master and friend.

 

So now here was Quietus with a use for the mask at last. Giving the mask a final visual check, the Sith took a breath and placed the mask over his own face, finding that it fit his own features fairly well enough for his purpose. He quickly tested his ability to move his mouth, jaw, and neck under the new constraints and found them to be equally acceptable before removing the mask and holding it in his hands again.

 

Looking down at that mask, Quietus could not help but let a smile cross his face, briefly wondering what Zar would say to having his mask used like this. But just as quickly as the thought came, it faded, leaving Quietus with only his plan forward. Without further delay, he stood, and made the changes to his outward appearance.

 

The first thing that he did was remove the robes that he had been wearing, folding them nearly on the bed beside him, choosing instead to display his battle armor which he wore beneath at all times. Next he added a very Sithly cloak that hung loosely on his shoulders, giving him the ability to hood his face if needed but without getting in the way of his armor, and ended in a fairly high class cape down his back. The final alteration was the addition of the mask itself.

 

Standing in his new visage, Quietus examined his new look in a nearby mirror, and found it to be an extremely different look, one that looked as evil as it was deadly. Satisfied with his own transformation, he turned and made his way to the bridge and comm station. Once there, the Sith began to weave his web of deceit and misleading as he began recording a message as his new persona.

 

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Nearly an entire day passed in the cell that Emerald was being held in, though to the prisoner it might have felt longer. She was given food an additional time during that period, and then once again the sound of the door sliding open broke the silence of the cell. Quietus walked in once more, back in his part of ship owner, wearing the familiar robes that the prisoner had seen him in earlier.

 

“Wake up little pixie. I have a delivery for you.” He said with a sarcastic grin.

 

He entered the cell, walking only halfway in before throwing a small circular object in Emerald’s general direction.

 

“True to our earlier conversation, I passed what you gave me along to my contact in the Sith. They sent this back in response. I of course, listened in; can never be too careful around the Sith you know. But it’s meant for you. Take a look. Seems they might be interested in your bait after all."

 

He nodded to the circlular object, which when examined closely would be revealed as a holo emitter with a recorded message. Once she picked it up, he turned and exited the cell, closing and locking the door behind him. He had no interest in being in the same room as the prisoner while she watched the recording; the less reference he gave her to compare himself and the figure in the message, the better. He did however, go out to the local control station and watched the security monitors.

 

When the holo emitter was activated, a six foot tall image of Quietus, in his new transformed state with mask and armor, sprung to life. The image allowed just enough time for the viewer to look the image up and down before it began speaking its message, its voice modulated by the mask, making this figure sound differently from Quietus as well. In the background of the image, the massive form of a giant tuk'ata could be seen pacing from side to side behind the figure, passing through the frame of view every few seconds.

 

“Hello there pirate. Word has traveled to me through my apprentice and the owner of the ship you are currently a prisoner of. It seems you over stepped your limits in an attempt to seek out the Sith… to seek out me. I, am Darth Quietus. I am the one you risked everything at the chance to speak to. I have been told that you hold information that you believe to be of use to us, and something about an organization to which you belong. But of course, it seems you refuse to divulge anything further to our mutual friends. What a pity. For now I have to change my plans to rendezvous with that infernal casino ship, just to see if what you offer is even worth my time. For your sake, it better be, or you will not live long enough to regret your actions. Until then, I suggest you prepare your presentation. Long live the Sith…”

 

The transmission cut off then, the holo image disappearing and leaving only the emitter behind for a few brief seconds before it exploded into a puff of smoke. The emitter had been rigged to self destruct, frying all the vital components five seconds after the message ended; clearly Emerald was not to be trusted.

 

Another five minutes would pass before Quietus again entered the room to check on his prisoner. Instead of crossing the room, he lingered just inside the door, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning sideways against the wall.

 

“So little pixie. Think your information is good enough for that Quietus fellow? I hope so, I’d hate to see him ruin such a pretty face. Or that dress for that matter… I bet I could sell it for profit…” He mused, trailing off slightly. It was of course a very elaborate ploy. Now all that remained was to see how she reacted.

[Emerald]

All the rich food that Emerald had consumed since being in the cell was suddenly rebelling against her. Her stomach wrenched with a carefully masked sense of fear and inevitability that gave way to near nausea. The man who appeared in the hologram had the mask of the well-known barbarian whose name Emerald couldn’t recall. But he was dead, wasn’t he? Maybe this Darth Quietus was an admirer of his, adopting his likeness and mannerisms in order to capitalize on the bloody history that his predecessor had written. Maybe he was just some kind of pretender.  

 

Though if that was the case, these were quite extravagant lengths to go to for a bit of playacting. Maybe this Quietus was the real deal.  

 

It struck Emerald as odd to realize that she wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t even really intimidated. Apprehensive, maybe. Anxious, yes. But not afraid, and she’d half expected to be. If her information were indeed valuable, she would be rewarded, even if the only reward was her freedom and her life. And she believed in her intelligence: if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have come here in the first place and trusted in her own Mistryl tactics to keep her out of the eye of CoreSec or whoever else would be hunting her.  

 

Plus, she hadn’t given this interrogator her real name. Ship’s administrator or not, he couldn’t pass on information he didn’t have.  

 

Carefully, oh-so-carefully, Emerald engaged her mental blocks, running useless sabacc numbers in her mind, dwelling on the cool distaste she felt and trusting that it would flood her senses, rather than giving an edge to the apprehension.  

 

“Oh, I think it’s good enough. It’s pretty clear that you don’t,” she began cautiously. “Though if anything should go wrong, I should think you’d hate to waste something so pretty.” Employing the use of her eyebrows, Emerald conveyed a smug sarcasm. “So, what’s your name, anyways? Or do I just have to think of you as the nameless faceless drone of this erstwhile Sith Lord?”

[Raynuk Montar]

One moment Quietus was standing there, leaning against the wall, engaging the prisoner in idle conversation; the next, he was storming across the room at a speed that nearly gave his true identity away. But this part he was playing, the part of the ship's owner, was not just an instance of perfectly engaged acting, it was a piece of his identity. And that truth lead a great deal of weight to his methods. The moment that Emerald called Quietus a 'nameless, faceless drone of the Sith', Quietus' instincts kicked in and he charged across the room. With one hand, he seized her by the arm and dragged her to her feet, before his other hand whipped across her face, delivering a heavy blow with the back of his hand. He of course let the grip go at the precise moment to allow the blow to be delivered with full force, sending Emerald half falling, half flying across the room. Anger wrenched across his face as Quietus allowed just a taste of his true nature to come to the surface as he pointed a threatening finger at the crumpled form of his prisoner.

 

"I told you before pixie! I AM NO ONE'S DRONE! I answer to MYSELF! NO ONE ELSE!" He practically roared at her, his face quite nearly snarling at her.

 

Quietus growled slightly before he turned and began crossing the room as if he were about to engage in a fair amount of pacing. She had asked for a name, and Quietus was keen enough to know to not give his birth name. Although it was no longer a name he used openly, it was still who he was, and he could not afford to have Emerald connect the dots, as unlikely as it might be that his two names were still connected. If he was to keep this illusion and misdirection alive, he would have to give her a name, an olive branch to span the divide. He would get her to trust him, even in these conditions. Quietus then paused, and turned to look at Emerald as she began to stir from her crumpled state.

 

"Dont forget that you are at MY mercy little pixie. I am the one keeping you alive, the one who gave you the oppertunity you attacked my ship to get. You are here, and alive, because I decided to make it so. Do yourself a favor, and quit trying to make me regret that decision. There are far worse fates than being kept in a room, given decent food and decent clothing. All I have asked of you, is a little common courtesy and cooperation. If you would prefer I vent you out an airlock instead, then just go ahead and say so. Like I said before, I am a gracious man..."

 

Any doubt that Quietus would do exactly as he said would effectively be wiped away by the sadistic grin that spread across his face. He allowed Emerald to gain the full measure of his serious intentions, his gaze locking on her for a few moments before he blinked and looked away, changing the subject. It was time to yank the line a bit, to dangle the bait and lure the fish closer. He knew now what he would say next; knew how perfectly it would work in his favor.

 

"My thoughts on the validity of your information does not come from thinking less of you little pixie; it comes from knowing the Sith as I have known them. You will have to be extremely convincing for this Darth Quietus to not simply kill you as soon as you tell him what he wants to know. And from what I have heard, you will find me to be a far kinder jailkeeper than him. Try not to forget that eh?"

 

As he spoke, Quietus continued walking, his back to Emerald until he got to the door of the cell, intending to leave her to chew on what he was about to tell her.

 

"You want my name? Fine, so be it. Maybe then you'll stop your insistance that I am a drone of the SIth, despite how much fun it is becoming for me to remind you of that fact. My name, little pixie, is Ezra Montar."

 

When the words were out of his mouth, Quietus had to restrain himself from grinning. He had given Emerald the name of his brother; the brother that had the misfortune of being the vessel of Quietus' realization that he was perfectly suited to being a Sith. Quietus, then as Raynuk, had killed his own brother in his youth in the middle of the Roon Sea, crushing their speeder around Ezra and sending it plumeting to the depths below. And now, just as Quietus was using the mask of Barohm Zar, he again used his past to further his goals in the present. The fact that Raynuk grew up to become Darth Quietus would lend an additional amount of credibility to Emerald thinking he was Ezra Montar; What better way to solidify a connection and working relationship with the Sith when Ezra and Raynuk were brothers? The death of Ezra, in addition to having occured so long ago, was fairly minor news outside of the Roon system. Back then, both Raynuk and Ezra had been assumed dead in the speeder crash. And with time passing and Raynuk showing himself to be anything but dead, it wouldnt have been a far stretch to assume that Ezra had survived the ordeal as well.

 

Pausing just a moment to see if Emerald could mentally connect the dots in that moment, Quietus turned his back to her again.

[Ruby]

Ruby decided that she hated this ship, and at the moment she wasn't entirely fond of small spaces, either.

 

The almost imperceptible shudder that had announced the ship's entry into hyperspace had thrown a kink into their plans. Without Sapph on board, the only result of trying to spring Emerald from whatever holding cell would probably result in Ruby's capture, injury, or death, none of which she was in any particular hurry to experience. Which left exactly one option, since she couldn't exactly hide in an elevator shaft for days on end without food or water.

 

Escape.

 

The logical part of her knew that it was the only option left to her, despite that fact that some other part, deep down, hated leaving Emerald behind to fend for herself. So she ignored the little voice that whispered to her that she would be betraying her compatriot by leaving, repeating to herself over and over that if roles were reversed, Em would do the same thing.

 

The original plan was to crawl through the ducts to the hangar bays, steal a ship, and blast off to rendezvous with Sapphire, at which point the two of them would figure out how to rescue Emerald. But then she decided that that wouldn't work either, since the docking bay shields would more than likely refuse to disengage while the hyperdrive was active.

 

Ruby paused in the duct that she was currently wiggling through. Thank the Force for small favors, if they were indeed aboard this ridiculous ship, at least they wouldn't be able to track her via her Force presence, given that they hadn't personally encountered her and she was about as Force-blind as they came.

 

Think, she commanded herself, wishing for the thousandth time that they hadn't called that tech and ruined his day and theirs. Her eyelids drooped shut as she mentally went through the ship schematics again, looking for any possible way out of this.

 

Ruby's eyes popped back open, slightly iridescent against the dark of the air duct, and she grinned to herself in inspiration. What better way to escape a ship than an escape pod? Resolve renewed, she continued on.

 

The next few hours were a blur of crawling, constantly backtracking, leaving false clues, and ever so slowly but surely making her way towards her destination. Her arms ached, her neck cramped, her eyes strained through the darkness, but she was determined to leave no path, give them no way to find her. The only clues they would find would be the ones that she wanted them to, and those would lead them nowhere.

 

Finally, she lay in an air duct overlooking one of the many escape pod decks. All at once, her eyes took in the access pads next to each pod, the master control panel nearby, and the technician on duty who was more interested in surfing the Holo-net on said control panel than paying attention to his surrroundings. Which, given normal circmstances, Ruby could understand- chances of a Star Destroyer, even one repurposed into a gigantic casino, running afoul of anyone willing to attack it were slim to none, and the fact that they even had anyone on duty here was nothing more than a gratuitous safety gesture. One that in this scenario, would work to her advantage.

 

Carefully working her blaster from its holster strapped to her wrist underneath her sleeve, she flipped the switch from kill to stun, looking back through the grille in front of her and gauging the distance from her location to the technician, from the technician to the closest pod. This was going to take some fancy maneuvering to pull off. Not to mention that launching an escape pod from a ship in hyperspace was nothing short of insane.

 

With a deep breath, Ruby coiled herself, bracing as well as she could in the cramped metal passageway. Counting down mentally, she exploded forward in a blur of movement, shoulder hitting the grate in front of her first and jarring it free of its position, tumbling to the ground. She rolled on impact, coming back to her feet, blaster already tracking to the position of the turning technician, and fired off a single round as she barreled towards him. The stun shot took him before he had even turned around the whole way, and she caught him as he fell, a grunt escaping her lungs as his weight fell onto her.

 

Hefting him over her shoulders, she moved the scant few meters to the first escape pod, pressing the now unconscious tech's hand against the access pad. Ruby breathed a sigh of relief as the door to the pod slid open, and let the tech fall to the floor, propped up against the wall, as she moved into the escape pod. Strapping herself in, she hit the "EJECT" button on the control panel, and the door to the pod slid closed seconds before the pod blasted out away from the ship.

 

She gritted her teeth against the centrifugal force as the pod began to spin, forcing herself to ignore the gray invading on the edges of her vision, the hand she kept on the control panel trying to time the pod's thruster burns to bring her out of the spin. Gradually- and far too slowly for Ruby's liking- the blur of hyperspace became lines, and the lines shortened into stars, and the pod stopped its maniacal spin as the thruster ran out of fuel. Ruby sat, dead in space, but no longer on the Gambit.

[Emerald]

“Montar, huh?” Inwardly, her mind was spinning, trying to recall why she knew the name. It had brushed a familiar vein in her mind, but other than that, no revelation sprang from this new knowledge. “Doesn’t ring a bell,” she continued honestly. She operated on the policy that it was almost always better to admit when you didn’t actually know something, as much as that might forfeit some leverage. Now that she knew his real name and he still had only a fraction of hers, even admitting she didn’t know him wasn’t giving up leverage.  Upon her departure from this floating circus, she’d get in contact with her network, which would almost certainly know anything there was to know about this man, if in fact he was the ship’s administrator. It was impossible to get that high up in any position without leaving some trace, and she would find it if it was there to be found.

 

Then she’d turn it to her advantage, as she always did, and he’d wish he never laid a hand on her in this bloody cell.

 

One thing was certain: she needed to get out of here. The scrubbed air, absent the perfumed luxury present in the rest of the VIP decks, was beginning to feel stale and stifling. This Montar was right: there were far worse things than rich food, exotic clothing, and solitude, however compulsory. But in Emerald’s mind, one of those far-worse things was lack of freedom. The lithe Mistryl hated herself for the clumsy and stupid maneuvers that had landed her here.

 

In that moment, another horrific thought crossed her mind. If and when she did get out of here and rendezvous with Ruby and Sapphire, she would have to tell them what happened.

 

Ruby will never let me live this down, she thought despairingly, picturing the mocking smirk that was sure to cross that stoic Chiss complexion.

 

Suddenly, the meeting with this Darth Quietus didn’t seem quite so intimidating compared to the sheer mortification that awaited her back amongst her fellows.

 

She considered Montar for a moment as he lingered by the door. His explosive reactions to her goading told her that he was hot-headed and self-important, traits she could use to her advantage. Could she overpower him? Maybe. Her Mistryl reflexes were the equal of any combatant, and she’d never lost in hand-to-hand combat since being a young teenager. But there was a quiet power in him that she didn’t want to cross. Besides, even if she were to overpower him and get into the hallway, she was under constant surveillance, that much was sure. They’d send entire battalions of security after her, and the whole thing would be borked. Not only that, but she would be worse off than she was at the moment. This Montar was even beginning to appear friendly—to a degree, anyways. Someone that could go from cajoling her good-naturedly to throttling her and slamming her into walls in the next instant wasn’t exactly the inspiration of trust.

 

No, there was a far more subtle way to scratch behind the ears of this predator.

 

Emerald leaned back against the wall, folding her arms across her chest and studying Montar’s form under heavily lidded, smoldering eyes. “So,” she began, her tone taking on a barely detectable touch more sultry flavor. “When is this Quietus supposed to get here?” She crossed the floor of the cell in three cat-like strides, leaning a shoulder against the wall closest to the door, a mere six inches from where Montar stood. Her eyes flickered between his dark, mysterious eyes and his lips several times, before letting the corner of her mouth turn up in the tiniest of amused half-grins. “I’ve been awfully bored in here, and if he’s going to be a while, I could use some company.”

 

Coy hints would suffice for now, until she could gauge his reaction. As she paused, waiting to see the next move on their dejarik board, a subtle thought wafted into her mind, seemingly unbidden. Sly little minx…

[Raynuk Montar]

Quietus watched Emerald cautiously, waiting to see of the name he had given her was going to mean anything to her. Perhaps she would indeed be quick enough to connect the dots, but after a few seconds it was clear that she was unable to do even that, a fact which she confirmed not long after. She did however, gain what she would assume to be valuable knowledge, which was just fine by Quietus. The Sith had learned long ago that when given a meaningless piece of data, be it a picture, a name, or a message, they will take from that blank slate exactly what they want; they will hear what they want to hear, and they will see what they want to see. In this case, Emerald would hear what she wanted to hear; an important piece of information that she would keep with her until she could find a way to leverage it against him. If she only knew how much time and effort she would waste tracking that name down.

 

"I didnt expect it to ring any bells little pixie." He spoke with a shrug, "You have no reason to know of me or what I have done in my life up to this point. I have made quite certain of that."

 

He almost visibly eluded to some sort of cover-up of his own life, if to only lead Emerald down a certain path even more, one which he could almost see her taking on as a challenge; to prove that whatever coverup he eluded to was not as masterful as he hoped. Even playing the part of Ezri as he was, in which he was simply a business man and not a renegade Sith Master, he could still get brief whispers through the Force on what she was going to do, and what she was thinking. The harder part was to keep his reactions timed to someone without his natural skills. With the question of his name settled and sending the prisoner's mind spinning, the conversation shifted again as Emerald's attitude and body language shifted. Quietus noticed it almost as fast as she changed it, and got another fair example to help prove that his prisoner had been trained, and was fairly good at her craft. When she spoke, Quietus had to hold back the smirk that came with detecting her sultry flavorings. Ever one to play the part he crafted, he watched her in silence as she crossed the room closer to him before he spoke, his own eyes drifting to match hers.

 

"Lord Quietus will arrive sometime during our next stop over Corellia I would imagine. Sith like him tend to move about on their own schedules, and expect others to bend to their will. As for your... boredom, I suppose I could do something about that..."

 

He looked her up and down once, gauging her potential next move from this distance. Either she was going to attempt to assault him and somehow get out of the cell, or she was going to hedge her bets on being able to charm him in conversation. Either way, Quietus was fairly confident in his own abilities. After so long spent in custody, and given all the things that he had said, there was almost no chance that she still suspected him to be Quietus, and for now, that would remain his key aspect of influence over her. Whatever move she made next, one thing was for sure; she was going to underestimate Quietus again. If she attempted to assault him, he would be ready enough to surprise her. If she continued to attempt to charm him, he would play along until the time was right. Outwardly though, his gauging of her from head to toe would merely seem as though he was indeed checking her out; that her subtle sultry tone had planted the seed that she was hoping for.

 

"And what, exactly did you have in mind to satisfy you being bored little pixie?" He finished with another of his Cheshire cat style grins.

 

========================================

 

"WHAT?!"

 

That was the first word that came to the mind of Captain Jacob Kira when a junior officer informed him that one of the escape pods had just fired and launched as the ship was traveling through hyperspace, despite the internal and external safety measures that were inherent with most of the ships traveling the galaxy. By all accounts, launching a tiny, flimsy escape pod in the middle of hyperspace travel was akin to skydiving without a parachute; All you ever end up with is a big mess and a story about that one time someone was stupid enough to try it and think it would work.

 

The second words that shattered through Captain Kira's stunned state was the realization that, if the escape pod meant what he was dreading it meant, that Quietus was going to kill him for it. Capture her at all costs he had said to the other Sith, Help my apprentice with whatever he needs he had said to Kira. There was little comfort in knowing that Quietus was probably going to kill his apprentice for failing as well. On the plus side, there was a 99.99999999% chance that the intruder was now dead, scattered into hundreds of pieces along with the escape pod over an unknown distance in space. All in all, they had removed the threat from the Shadow's Gambit which had to count for something. The odds of the chiss surviving the launch, let alone survive being dead in space in the middle of nowehre, were slim to none.

 

Right?

[Emerald]

Her carefully engineered seductive veneer didn’t falter noticeably, either in the way Emerald carried herself, nor in the set of her mental faculties toward allurement, but the calculating way in which he assessed her gave her all she needed to know. This man would play in to her advances, but ultimately the outcome would be of no use to her. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, still leaning heavily on the wall of the cell, and leaned her head back, wrapping one hand around the back of her neck as to massage tension away.

 

"Come, come, Mr. Montar,” she said, letting the thinly veiled seduction fall into a sad sort of little grin. “You don’t strike me as someone who needs a lot of hints to figure things out. I can’t imagine you’d be less clever than you appear.”

 

Folding her arms once again over her chest, the blonde leveled her gaze to meet his. “You might be the most mysterious person I’ve ever met, and you’re very good at hiding your feelings and motivations in this whole business. I applaud you for that, sir,” she said slowly, never letting the fire of her gaze slip for a moment. “But a woman always knows when she isn’t wanted. Some sort of internal barometer, maybe, gauging the temperature of the embers of lust and intrigue. It seems that it would be a waste of my time and yours to pretend your interest is more than purely official.”

 

Her eyes flickered to the floor, then slowly, ever-so-slowly, back up to meet his eyes. “Besides, I’m not one for blatant voyeurism,” she grinned, motioning with a hand airily towards the ceiling. “If we were to spend some time getting to know one another more... personally, shall we say, I would hope that you could arrange to have me transferred elsewhere. Somewhere a little more comfortable, maybe?”

 

The corner of her mouth turned up into a coy and girlish smile. “And I promise I won't try to run. Several hours to Corellia, isn’t it?”

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

Karys sat waiting in his suite for what seemed like an hour before he decided he would find out what was the hold up. He headed to the bridge, hoping to make sense of just what had happened and after entering found just why there was a hold up. He entered just as a junior officer began to inform the 'good' captain that their prey had eluded them via jettisoning during the hyper-speed jump. He admitted he had to admire her gall to do such a thing but it would count for nothing in the end, the odds of surviving were slim...however he could not shake the feeling this one was different. That the Chiss had survived, he had to be sure.

 

He began to think of the next step. Quietus would not be happy if he found out their prey had eluded them, thus he needed a alternate plan. Approaching the captain he spoke with a new idea in his head, one which if he was right could potentially net more than just the Chiss for his master. It was gamble but if it worked would reward with a larger payoff.

 

''Hmmm this Chiss is more clever than I gave her credit for, but she underestimates us also. Captain are your escape pods equipped with homing beacons? Let's see if we can track her if at all. From now on I want updates delivered every hour, anything out the ordinary no matter how small. If what I believe is right, she's done this type of thing before and it's a gamble but if my hunch is right she'll be back for her friend and it is then we will have our chance.

 

Our current prisoner will be our bait even she herself does not yet know it. ''

[Raynuk Montar]

"Oh no little pixie, Im a great deal more clever than I appear, and perhaps even more clever than you give me credit for."

 

It was clear to Quietus then that she had seem the folly of her attempts to seduce her way out of the situation. There was a part of the Sith that knew he could take from her what she had dangled in front of him with her coy demeanor, with her being less than able to stop him. But to do such a thing, especially at the given moment, would be unwise. Not only was the current setting inadequate for such endeavors, but to do so he ran the risk of revealing his hand. Add that to the fact that he could only assume the seduction was an avenue for her escape, and there were far too many reasons for Quietus, as Ezra, to resist his primal urges. As she spoke of her conclusions about being mysterious and hidden, Quietus could not help the sly grin that spread across his face, nor could he resist bowing graciously, taking it all as a compliment. Just as quickly as the air of seduction enveloped her, it just as quickly receded, leaving behind only her charm.

 

Quietus had intended to move the prisoner to one of the more expensive suites prior to the meeting with his Sith version, somewhere that would more dutifully reflect a man of his power and station; to make Emerald begin to feel hospitable and receptive to anything Quietus might offer. So when she brought up the idea of being transferred somewhere else, he whole-heartily considered granting her request. It would not only serve his purposes in the end, but would cast Ezra in a better light for her as well. Now it was his turn to play games with her. He began rubbing his chin, his eyes cast downward to give the impression that he was deep in thought, and as she made her promise, Quietus' eyes found her face once more before he ended his thoughtful pose and spoke.

 

"Hrm, Shame you're not one for voyeurism, that would have been interesting. As for your transfer, I suppose I could do that. We have some nice suites that I am sure Lord Quietus would enjoy. No reason to drag him through the bowels of the ship for your meeting I suppose."

 

He paused for a moment before the faintest of smiles crossed his face as he reached up and caressed her cheek and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

 

"Perhaps... after your meeting with Lord Quietus we could explore your suggestion. Assuming you survive your encounter with the Sith of course. Now if you'll excuse me, I should make the preparations. Be back soon little pixie."

 

He did not even wait for her to respond before he turned and exited the cell, pausing just outside the door as it closed, a sadistic grin coming to the surface. It would indeed be a fairly entertaining next few hours, no matter how things went. His good mood however, was quickly dashed as a security guard informed him what had happened during the time he was in the cell with Emerald. It seemed their fugitive Chiss had managed to get off the ship, albeit in the most suicidal way possible. Her fate was of little concern to Quietus; he had instructed Karys to deal with the situation, and so far it appeared his apprentice had failed him. It was a detail that Quietus would chew on as he made his way through the corridors to set up the next stage of his plan.

 

----------------------------

 

"Homing beacons? Why.. yes of course but I-"

 

"From now on I want updates delivered every hour..."

 

Captain Kira could only sigh as Quietus' apprentice rattled off his plan. When he was through, Kira allowed a pause before he responded, just in case the Massassi was going to continue on.

 

"All escape pods are equipped with homing beacons of course, but we'd need to be in the same bloody star system for us to pick the beacon up. Not to mention that more than likely, the moment the escape pod jettisoned it was torn apart by the velocity we were traveling. Escape pods are not designed to be launched during hyperspace!"

 

To say that Captain Kira was frantic would be an understatement. He had now failed Quietus not once, but twice, and was now telling another Sith that his plan wasnt going to work. Not to mention the amount of stress Kira was under merely from being the captain of the Shadow's Gambit and trying to keep the ship on schedule.

 

Oh sithspit! THE SCHEDULE!

 

In what must have seemed like a move of panic, Kira turned on his heels and dashed back across the bridge. The ship was due to be arriving at Corellia fairly soon, and the Captain had been so wrapped up in the whole intruder fiasco he hadnt had time to ensure everything was going right. A few moments spent checking in with his junior officers put him at ease though. His crew was more than capable of doing their jobs without his constant supervision, a fact that he was still attempting to get used to. By the time he finished checking on everything, the ship was five minutes out from Corellia, which of course made it the absolute perfect time for the Captain's commlink to beep, indicating that Quietus was calling. Sometimes Captain Kira wondered where all his luck went.

 

"Yes m'lord?"

 

"I will be moving the prisoner to a room more friendly to open negotiations." Came the voice of Quietus. "When we arrive at Corellia, wait ten minutes and then modify our logs to indicate the arrival of the Ogariv II. Is that clear?"

 

"Perfectly my lord. Might I... ask why... you..." the Captain stuttered slightly, not quite sure how to voice his questions over the instructions he was given. With the rash of failures, he wasnt keen on testing Quietus' temper.

 

"No. You may not." The response came quickly, cutting the Captain off.

 

The comm clicked off without further word, causing the Captain to wince slightly, still feeling the seething rage that boiled under Quietus' skin that came across so perfectly in his voice. With a sigh and a glance to the side, Captain Kira watched the last minutes tick away before issuing the order to drop from hyperspace, his gaze instantly turning to the front viewport as Corellia flashed into place before them. With the Shadow's Gambit now having completed its first hyperspace jump of the trip, the crew instantly began scrambling to fufill their tasks. There were shuttles to prepare for visits to the planet, garbage to dump, and all sorts of other maintenance to keep up with.

 

The Captain meanwhile, watched the clock for his cue to fulfill the task he was given my Quietus.

 

----------------------------------------

 

His conversation with Kira over, Quietus looked around the cabin he had chosen to move Emerald to, and nodded approvingly. By the time the ship arrived at Corellia, Quietus had requisitioned a maintenance team to seal all possible entrances and exits in the cabin besides the door; he would not lose his prisoner to another dive down a garbage chute or a scramble through the ventilation system. Suitable satisfied with his plan, Quietus began the walk back to the detention level, grabbing a pair of stun cuffs along the way.

 

Only a few hours had passed since he left Emerald, but it was long enough that Quietus had to stop just outside the door to recollect the persona of Ezra around him before he reentered. Once inside, he looked Emerald over in silence for a few heartbeats before he spoke.

 

"We have arrived at Corellia little pixie, and it is time for your quarters to be... upgraded." He said, using the pause in the sentence to gesture to the surrounding room. He then revealed the stun cuffs in his hand and continued.

 

"With some security measures of course. Forgive me for not openly trusting the word of a self-expressed pirate. Im sure you understand."

 

He crossed the gap between them and closed the stun-cuffs around her wrists. When he was sure that the cuffs were secured, he turned and took Emerald by the arm and began escorting her out of the cell. He said next to nothing to Emerald as they traversed the corridors, other than some off-handed 'Here we are' as they arrived at the turbolift, the appropriate deck, and then finally the cabin he had chosen. Once there, he lead Emerald inside, giving her the first glimpse of luxury since she had tried her ill-fated dive to the garbage chute.

 

"Welcome to your new home little pixie. Im sure Darth Quietus will be arriving soon, so you might as well enjoy it while you have the chance." He spoke rather casually, with just the slightest hint of kindness in his voice before approaching her again and removing the stun cuffs.

 

"You will find this room to be totally private, I can assure you that there are no hidden cameras or microphones to spy on you... I dont believe Darth Quietus would appreciate such things very well. So no risk of voyeurism here little pixie."

 

He smiled before offering for her to take a seat on the massive and no-doubt comfortable couch. Quietus on the other hand, decided to remain on his feet, and took up a nearly identical pose near the door as he had done in the cell. Whether Emerald had seen it or not, Quietus had made sure that two security guards were posted outside the door following their entrance.

 

Not that Quietus expected Emerald to get past him to the door anyway.

 

-------------------------------

 

((EDITED FOR MISTAKES. SEE MOD POST BELOW))

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

When the officer arrived he found that Karys was sitting with his legs crossed, deep in meditation in the force. He found it relaxed him when he delved into the force such a position, he hadn't known it would be of so much use before he met Quietus but now...he saw the true value of meditation. His mind was one with the darkside for the moment as he focused upon the Sith Code he had been shown and upon how best to net his prize.

 

He hoped his plan worked. When he felt the officer enter he arose from his position and turned around.

 

"I trust your visit here is not without reward? Tell me what news have you of our prey.''

 

Karys listened as the officer told him how they had traced the homing beacon the moment it entered the system. His hunch had been right, and the Chiss was back for her friend, it was likely as expected she was not alone and now had a bigger ship in which the escape pod now sat. He let a slight smile crept across his lip at how he had bested his prey for the moment. For all her gall she had failed to de-activate the beacon and it would be her downfall. Or so he thought.

 

He spoke to the officer.

 

''The girl is either more foolish than I thought or she has something more up her sleeve. Interesting.''

 

Karys was lost in a moment of thought. How to catch such a slippery prey? And then it all fell into place. He turned to face the officer and spoke again, this time with authority and a hint of intimidation making him fully aware of what would happen if he delayed.

 

''Take me to the bridge at once. Time is of the essence.''

[Raynuk Montar]

Sorry to have to do this, Lucifer, but I messed up,

 

There is no tracking signal from the escape pod; I failed to notice Ruby dismantled it in one of her previous posts in the Space thread. As a result, the last little bit of my post, and your post, are going to have to be nulled. I'll remove the offending part of my post, and then do something below to interact with you, which was my initial intention for the now removed section (to keep you involved)

 

Here is the new section of my last post; feel free to repost accordingly.

 

=================================================

Just as Quietus had requested, once the Shadow's Gambit had been in orbit over Corellia for ten minutes, Captain Kira made the necessary changes to the log to make it appear as though the Ogariv II had just landed in the docking bay. being that the meeting that was to take place was to be in secret, and given the secretive nature of the Sith in general, nothing more was needed to give the illusion that Quietus was just now coming on board the Shadow's Gambit. Just as Kira was going to return to his other duties as captain, he noticed the comm officer walking briskly towards him. Regarding the man with an open and patient glance, Kira waited for the man to speak.

 

"Sir, about the Sith's plan? We.." The officer paused, clearly caught up in his own words.

 

"Spit it out Colonel." Kira said, his tone clearly conveying the thin patience behind it.

 

"How does he expect us to get a tracking signal from an escape pod under these circumstances? It's like looking for a needle in a haystack!" The Colonel said rather flustered.

 

"Perhaps you would like to share your perspective on the manner with the Sith then?" Captain Kira responded evenly, knowing that the entire reason the Colonel was talking to him about it was precisely because the man was terrified to say it to the Sith.

 

"Uhm... N-No sir." The Colonel admitted.

 

"Then I suggest you simply smile and nod, and attempt to do your job. I am fully aware of how unlikely it is that we will get a signal; most likely the pod was destroyed, which leaves little wiggle-room for its occupant in terms of survival. And even if she somehow did manage to survive a suicidal move like that, the first thing a trained operative would do would be to deactivate the homing beacon. But it appears our Sithly friend gleaned over that probability. But when no signal is found, it will be because none exists, not because we were not looking due to disagreeing with the Sith. Is that understood Colonel?"

 

The officer nodded briskly, a look of defeat on his face, before taking off down the bridge to return to his station. It seemed almost certain the apprentice's plan was not going to work. The lesser question that failed to come forward in Kira's mind was just exactly how the Sith thought the fugitive, and the escape pod, could have managed to survive being jettisoned during hyperspace. Regardless, every hour on the hour the Sith apprentice would be updated

[Emerald]

As they meandered from the detention level back up into the VIP suites that the Gambit boasted, Emerald took advantage of Montar’s silence to mull over her situation. Even as she allowed herself to fall into her thoughts, Emerald observed her surroundings with extreme care on the way to the receiving room. Wishing uselessly for Ruby’s eidetic memory, she nevertheless took in all that she saw: counting the number of cells between hers and the turbolift, the flickering lights on the turbolift wall as they ascended, every mounted camera and security guard, and every door and hallway that they passed on the way to their destination.  

 

Anyone who had been in her line of work as long as the blonde had began to develop a sort of “sixth sense”. Smugglers, pirates, and mercenaries alike jokingly called it “The Force”, an overt jibe towards those saber-wielding mystics, though it bore few of the qualities that supposedly came with the awareness of that supernatural power. No, their senses were honed by carefully practiced hedonism, amorality, and self-preservation.  

 

In response to this carefully cultivated reflex, the hairs on the back of Emerald’s neck began to stand up. She wasn’t afraid, but she was very aware that she was being toyed with. The show of marching her up to this lavish receiving room for a kriffing Sith in Darth Excruciation’s mask plus the abrupt shift from abusive interrogation to blatant chivalry in Montar’s manners—this whole thing was smelling like rotting radank claw to her.  

 

Someone was playing with her. Montar, this Quietus, someone orchestrating the whole thing from behind a holomonitor—it didn’t matter. She’d play along as long as it suited her interests, and not a minute more.  

 

Was death preferential to being humiliated?  

 

Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs out of it as they stepped into the new suite, Emerald exhaled quietly. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that decision. She was getting ahead of herself. But the desperation of her situation was beginning to sink in. She had long been tired of clawing at the heels of the great and powerful for handouts, and had abandoned the royal court at Hapes for that reason. If that was what this Sith Lord had in mind, coming here in all his state to hear a desperate proposition from a poor defenseless little girl, he would be disappointed. She would do no begging, no gentle wheedling.  

 

This Sith would make her a bargain, a solid deal, or she’d seal her lips. He didn’t want to be trifled with; neither did she.  

 

Montar’s voice snapped her out of her reverie, but she didn’t respond to him, didn’t give any indication that she had even heard him. Neglecting the seat he offered her on the couch, she wandered to the opposite wall, which contained a small, drink-size refrigeration unit, and looked over her shoulder to where Montar stood by the door. Clearly, between the stun cuffs and the guards he had posted on the outside of the door—did he think she wouldn’t notice?—he was taking measures to ensure her cooperation, and consequently didn’t trust her in the least.  

 

That was fine: she didn’t trust him either.  

 

The alleged lack of cameras in the room could be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, Montar might be more receptive to her advances without watchful eyes. If she were to escape, there may be some discrepancy between her actual departure and the security team detecting her. She could say what she wanted without fear of it being forwarded on against her wishes. On the other hand, the possibility of suffering abuse at the hand of a Sith Lord was unfortunately high, and without any third-party security keeping tabs on her, it might actually be safer for her to be under surveillance. Plus, if Sapphire had managed to hack into the system undetected, which was also pretty likely, she wouldn’t find Emerald in this sequestered suite.  

 

But this is what she had to work with, and so she’d manage. And she’d do it with flair. Somehow.  

 

Also, she’d find some way to get Montar to stop calling her a damn pixie.  

 

She swallowed in order to clear away any residual stiffness from her voice, and was satisfied with the strength that she heard as she spoke. “So, tell me, will you be accompanying this Quietus once he gets here?”  

 

Frowning as she opened the door of the refrigeration unit and saw it empty, she added, “And is there any possibility of obtaining a large amount of Kashyyykian rum before he arrives?”

[Raynuk Montar]

Quietus watched in curiosity as Emerald moved around the room. She had remained silent since he began escorting her from the detention level. To a point, the woman almost seemed more at ease inside the cell than she did now in the modest suite. Clearly there was just no pleasing some women. But still, he watched her move around, more out of curiosity as to what she would do rather than in a manner of security. He afforded himself a few more glances around the room before he turned his gaze back upon the blonde as she finally spoke, asking a question. Quietus could not help but laugh slightly with one of his dashing smiles that he saved for certain occasions.

 

"Hah. No I am afraid not little pixie. You have made it quite clear that what information you possess is for the Sith, and the Sith alone. However, that matter is secondary to the fact that the Sith value their privacy; Lord Quietus wasnt exactly pleased to learn that I had gotten involved in the first place by trying to get the information from you. No no, it will be just you and Darth Quietus alone, as I have no desire to test the leniency of the Sith, even aboard my own ship. Besides, I am shamed to admit that I have been neglecting my duties as the owner of this ship, focusing far too much of my time and effort on you and your friend. The meeting with Quietus will afford me some time to catch up on my duties, knowing that you'll be safely in the presence of a Sith Lord."

 

The last comment was said with a mild bit of dry sarcasm and another of his knowing grins. He crossed halfway across the room, his arms folded over his chest as he added his own question.

 

"And why precisely do you want a large amount of Kashyykian rum little pixie? I hope you're not planning on being completely sloshed for your big meeting little pixie! I dont think Lord Quietus would enjoy having you drunk..."

 

There was just the slightest amount of concern in his voice as Quietus continued to play the game of deceit that he knew so well.

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

As requested, Karys was updated every hour, and every hour the same news was given; the tracking of an escape pod from this distance was utterly impossible, even if it had survived the reckless move on the part of the Chiss. The crew knew it going in, but had still spent the time to give it due diligence. That time however, was over. It was the unlucky task given to an ensign - after he and four others drew straws to see who would be the bearer of bad news - to walk up to Karys and tell him flat out that his plan had no chance of working.

 

"My lord... Im sorry but... There is no way to track that escape pod. She's, uhm, gone. Unless you have another plan?" The ensign said, fairly sure that those would be his last words as he expected to face the rage of a Sith.

 

--------------------------------------------------

 

 

Captain Kira however, had been aware of the plans failure the moment the Sith came up with it, The Chiss was gone, but he knew better than to think that the blonde captive would be forgotten. With everything that happened, Corellia was the first chance that anyone would reasonable have to get on or off the ship, and the crew of the Shadow's Gambit had been fooled once; Kira was determined to not let it happen again. The tricky part was going to keep the ship operating as expected without leaving any holes to be exploited.

 

As he looked around his bridge, the Captain saw his men scrambling about with their duties, which seemingly left him as the only man concerned about this issue. A quick check of the time told him that the ship was two minutes from docking with one of the orbital stations of Corellia, giving its passengers freedom to go down to the surface of the planet for a day or two. Thankfully, that was all that was going to occur on Corellia; each passenger would be checked upon returning to the ship, a protocol that was designed to limit anyone from bringing things back to the ship that didnt belong; cruise liner passengers on Corellia had a nasty habit of trying to bring baby slice hounds home as pets for their children, which rarely turned out well. The Captain amused himself as he recalled some of the stories regarding the practice, a thought which occupied him until the time came to dock with the station.

 

Over the next five minutes, Captain Kira guided his crew through the docking procedures. When it was done, the ship was officially opened to allow its passengers to make their way to Corellia. No renegades pirate wenches would get in the way of this ship ding its duty to its passengers.

[Emerald]

"I think anyone would enjoy having me drunk," Emerald scoffed, slamming the door of the empty refrigeration unit at the pointed and patronizing use of his pet nickname. "Though I was thinking more of you. Running a ship like this, big security hazard, little pirates and smugglers and conniving little entrepreneurs constantly nipping at your heels; you must need a strong bit of intoxicant every now and then."

 

The blonde regarded him coolly, her eyes smoldering as she took a few steps closer to Montar and lowered herself onto the far sofa. The sensation of being the mouse in a kitterpat and mouse game was stronger than ever. Her senses on high alert, she still maintained the practiced calm demeanor of a seasoned veteran of these kinds of engagements. "Besides," she continued her previous train of thought without skipping a beat, "I find that a solid amount of hard liquor before any engagement tends to soothe rough patches all around. Sets everyone at ease, you know?" She flashed him a playful grin.

 

The telltale shudder of reemergence from hyperspace long past, Emerald feigned checking a wrist chrono that she wasn't wearing before turning her face up to Montar and offering him a false yawn.

 

"So does this Sith Lord just take his sweet time? I'd like to make my way down to Corellia if he's not going to be punctual, since I have plenty of other things to be doing," she goaded, in full knowledge that her previous teases of Montar had resulted in some form of bodily abuse.

[Raynuk Montar]

Quietus couldnt help but snicker slightly at the blonde's comment about being drunk. Were he any other Sith, at any other point, he might have put such an asessment to the test. But once again it was not the time nor the place for such things. Her comments about the alcohol being for him however, did warrant a response.

 

"Oh your concern for my well being is truly touching little pixie. I of course have an ample supply of varied intoxicants as you put it, at my disposal. I have no worries in that regard."

 

He watched her silently and closely as she moved around the room and finally sat on the couch that he had offered to her when they first entered. Her demeanor changed almost instantly, as if she had become aware of the situation she was now in for the first time. It was subtle enough to not warrant a reaction of his own, but it was noted none the less. Despite having been in the the suite for less than twenty minutes, it quickly became clear by her actions and her words that she was eager to get this meeting over with, if for no other reason than to get out of the mess that she had put herself in.

 

"The Sith tend to keep their own schedules, part of the whole 'evil bastards' mantra it seems. But lets see if we can get an update, shall we?"

 

Without even waiting for a response from the blonde, Quietus produced a datapad and pulled up a log of arrivals and departures, fully aware that he was doing so where she could easily see the screen as well. He payed no mind to it, already knowing what the log would read.

 

"Ah. Here we are. According to this, Lord Quietus has arrived in this system already, and is currently in the process of docking. I suppose that means our time together is at an end little pixie. I do believe it would be in my best interest to greet the Sith personally. If you'll excuse me. Perhaps I shall stop by after your meeting?"

 

There was just the faintest amount of hope in his voice, another of QUietus' clever insinuations while playing the persona of Ezra. He gave Emerald a polite bow before making a hastey exit of the room, leaving Emerald alone, not counting the guards outside the door. Once outside the door, the guise of Ezra fell away almost completely as he began making his way down to the docking bay where the Ogariv II still sat. It was there that Quietus would change from Ezra Montar to Darth Quietus. It took only a few minutes for Quietus to don his Sith armor and weapons and place the mask of Darth Excruciation upon his face. His transformation completed, Quietus strode out of his ship with the arrogant demeanor that only a Sith Master could carry. Only this time he did not exit alone; Vex'aedr was striding right behind him, a vision of fear and death.

 

This time, Quietus made absolutely no efforts to hide himself or the massive tuk'ata, boldly walking down populated corridors to the yelps and screams of passengers galore. There was a fair chance that the surprised noises of the passengers filtering in from the hallways would be the first thing Emerald would hear to signify Quietus' arrival. If not, then she would become aware the moment the door to the suite opened, and there stood Quietus, face hidden behind the mask of his mentor. He paused for a second before he entered the room, leaving enough room for Vex'aedr to squeeze into the room. Instantly upon noticing Emerald, Vex'aedr hunched down slightly and began growling as if simply waiting for the command from Quietus to tear the blonde to shreds. Quietus turned to look at his pet before turning his gaze to Emerald.

 

"He doesnt like you."

 

Those were the first four words he would say to Emerald, and wouldnt waste more words with introductions. She would know who he was, and he of course already knew who she was. But the character of Darth Quietus also wouldnt even care who she was; he was here for the information she held. Letting Vex'aedr growl a while longer, as if silently deciding if he should allow his tuk'ata to feed, Quietus made his way around the room to the refridgeration unit and opened it himself. Like before when she had opened it, it remained empty.

 

"And they call this a luxury cruise liner..." he practically growled in a similar fashion as Vex'aedr before glancing up at the beast and commanding it silently to stand down. "Not very hosptible to clear out the drinks on us."

 

He was talking to no one in particular, and other than the initial words, acted as if Emerald wasnt even in the room. He crossed back to the door and opened it. And in that following second, the true nature of the Sith he was came to fruition. Without even pausing or wasting a split second, Quietus' hand shot to the neck of the security guard to his left, instantly choking the man and lifitng him off the ground.

 

"It has come to my attention that there are no refreshments for my meeting. Tell me, what kind of ship do you run here where guests of my influence can be slighted in such a way?!" There was steady anger, a calm hatred to his voice as he choked the life from the security guard, thus making it impossible for the man to respond if he had answers at all. But Quietus would not kill the man, not yet anyway. Right when the man was about to pass out from the lack of air, Quietus released him, tossing him across the hall into the wall, and turned to the other guard.

 

"Get him out of my sight. And bring us some drinks!"

 

The second guard gave but a nod before turning on his heels and dashing off down the hallway, either out of fear of Quietus or in a superior level of obediance to orders. Either way did not matter to Quietus as he turned and re-entered the room, his outburst on full display to Emerald. When the door closed, Quietus paused for a second again before speaking, his voice still hinting at just how much anger and hatred was boiling beneath. Vex'aedr meanwhile. had apparently found a comfortable spot on the floor near the door to lay on, his eyes on constant vigil, regularly looking around the room and watching Emerald.

 

"Now then. Lets get down to business pirate. Tell me what was so important that you dragged me all the way out here, and then perhaps we can discuss what it is you want from the Sith. "

[Karys Narat iv-Adas]

((Sorry for such a long delay people. had a really really hectic few weeks.))

 

As the ensign relayed the report, Karys simply stared at him for a moment or two. He didn't even react as the ensign expected despite the fact he had just been told flat out his plan had no hope of working and that there was no way of tracking his prey. Karys however knew better, he knew there were other ways to achieve his aim and such incompetence and oversight on the crews behalf made one eyebrow almost seem to twitch for a second or two as if inside his anger boiled, which if truth be told it was.

 

The massassi thought for a moment before conceiving a alternative solution. It was time for some research.

 

''If that is the case then it is as I feared. Our target is far more resourceful than we thought and has more to her than meets the eye if she has the skill and know how to disable the pod without us catching on. Which brings me to an alternative solution perhaps to our problem, that is if no-one balls it up this time.''

 

Pausing a moment Karys continued.

 

''Inform the captain to find anything on our 'guest' downstairs on the holonet or through whatever sources you have, no matter how obscure. I want known aliases known or unknown, last known contacts, friends or more specifically if she is known to associate with this Chiss far more than she lets on, what skills she possesses and acquaintances from other jobs she may have done, what group she belongs to if any, what ship she has, anything at all even if it is just what she has for breakfast each morning I want to know it all. Let's see if something of our Chiss turns up from that. Perhaps she and her 'friends' are known elsewhere and just maybe through her we can find more about our target and see just where her skills lie therein to find her weakness and exploit it.

 

If we are lucky we may also find the name of the ship she is on and be able to track her from that by this search.''

[Emerald]

The incandescent charm and almost flirtatious manner that Montar had adopted was just beginning to grow on Emerald when he excused himself and took his leave of the room. Finding herself alone, she stood once again, determined not to be in a position of weakness when the Sith arrived, and paced the room slowly, cursing under her breath whoever removed the minibar from this room. She didn't bother rehearsing the coming meeting in her mind; she had no way of knowing what the Sith was liable to do, and refused to set up false expectations. But the lack of surety didn't sit well with the blonde pirate. She didn't generally mind abundant risk-taking: if there was no risk, there was generally no gain, and this was a lesson she had learned from infancy. She didn't often make it a practice of gambling with her life, however.

 

Left to her thoughts, she found them turning to Ruby and Sapphire for a brief moment, pondering their well-being and mentally berating herself for ever suggesting they get into this mess in the first place. But hopefully this would be over quickly, with a favorable result, and she could disembark and recuperate on Corellia.

 

She didn't have long to wait before she heard it. Pausing mid-pace against one of the room's side walls, she strained her ears to listen.

 

Alien curses, human screams, and a deep throaty noise that sounded like... growling?

 

The door hissed open, and the Sith Lord entered.

 

He was fearsome, that was certain. He seemed to carry a dark whirlwind with him, an agitation of invisible energy that pervaded the atmosphere. The trappings of his station made him the very picture of fear. He was wearing what seemed to be an entire mobile armory, but that was nothing compared to the canine-like beast that slunk into the room after him, growling from somewhere deep in its throat, its hair all standing on end.

 

And yet, there was something familiar about this Dark presence. Something Emerald couldn't quite put her finger on. It brought a subtle reminder to mind, even as her senses were grappling with the natural fight-or-flight response welling up inside her, that beneath all of the weapons, the armor, that horrific mask--there was actually a man inside. And it was that man, that presence, that felt familiar. Different, somehow, but familiar.

 

She held her tongue as he spoke to her, his voice full of vaunted anger and compassionless sarcasm. Content to let him make the first move, she didn't budge from her spot against the wall, and rather observed him as he followed her previous course straight to the refrigeration unit. It didn't escape her notice that the beast's attention didn't waver, and she admonished herself mentally that she ought not to move a muscle, lest she provoke him. Quietus muttered under his breath as he witnessed the empty contents of the unit, and then did the first unexpected thing, striding across the room once more to send the guards scuttling away in a panicked rush to provide hospitality.

 

If this Sith Lord had as much appreciation for good, strong intoxicants as Emerald, they might just get along fine.

 

"I wouldn't dream to waste your time," she began slowly, choosing her words carefully. "As I told your friend, Montar, I have information that would likely be of value to you, regarding the owner of a particularly curious neural whip that was rumored to have its origins in the Chaos god Slaanesh. There's more, as well, but I didn't come to donate my knowledge." She leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms and meeting the eyeless gaze of the mask.

 

"I told Montar that I'm not here for charity. I came to make a deal."

[Raynuk Montar]

As Emerald spoke, Quietus slowly paced the room, staying on his feet and staying mobile. There was no doubt in his mind that Emerald was not going to be foolish enough to attempt anything in the way of an attack, especially not now that Vex'aedr had been invited to the party as well. For the Sith, the move was to keep Emerald uneasy and keep his subtle dominance over her intact. Clearly she knew better than to conduct herself in the same manner as she did with Montar, which showed the Sith an immense amount of promise in her ability to recognize people who's station was above her own. When she finished speaking however, Quietus stopped and again turned his gaze upon her.

 

"I would hardly call that bureaucratic buffoon a friend my dear, but I am aware of what you told him, for he was smart enough to share that information with me." He spoke with a grin that was telling enough to warn that there was more to this story.

 

After another moment, Quietus reached into one of the pouches on his belt behind his lightsaber, and withdrew an item; the very neural whip that Emerald was talking about. He held it in his hand for a moment, admiring its craftsmanship again, and then allowed it to unfurl to the ground as he looked back up at Emerald.

 

"I suppose you are referring to this whip, which Mr Montar was kind enough to give me under threat of his life. A curious item of course..."

 

Another grin spread across his face as he rounded the couch he had stopped behind, and closed the gap between himself and Emerald.

 

"The fact that I am the Sith who came to this meeting is no coincidence my dear. Had any other Sith attempted to come to this meeting, I would have intervened. For the owner of this whip, was once content under my sway and teachings. I am afraid I know quite a deal about this whip and its former owner..."

 

He allowed the truth and possible shock to settle in before he continued.

 

"Her name was Jaina. Jaina Jade Skywalker. She was mine. To have and to walk this world with. The whip is indeed originated from Slaanesh, a gift from the Chaos god to her, a sign of the powers he gave her in life. Marked as a paragon of the Chaos Gods, given this whip, with its powers of pain and pleasure. She was taken from my care by a foolish Jedi, a Jedi who could see nothing but his addiction to love and his obsession with her. And as a result I slaughtered an entire Temple of Jedi and younglings in retaliation to get her back, but he hid her from me and fooled the rest of the Jedi into helping him. She died not long after, even as her Jedi lover watched helplessly. What I would have given to be there that day, to watch him be helpless in that moment, knowing that everything, and everyone he sacrificed for his own selfish reasons, was pointless. I would have made her my Sith Queen, but that eventuality was taken from me by the Jedi. "

 

There was a fair amount of fire and determination behind his eyes as he spoke, and for the briefest of moments, his Sith superiority flickered under the weight of his words. He recovered it quickly, but it was enough to most likely be noticed. His eyes flashed with anger again as they refocused on Emerald.

 

"That time has passed. So I do hope you've come with more than just who she was and where this came from, or I'm afraid whatever deal you hope to make will have no foundation, and you will most assuredly have wasted my time, whether you dreamed of it or not."

[Emerald]

This man continued to surprise her. There was a brief tinge of bitterness in his voice as he spoke of this champion of the Chaos gods, this girl with a past more convoluted than, it seemed, Emerald's own. But more than bitterness: it was almost wistfulness, regret. She almost found it in herself to pity this Quietus for the loss he had sustained at the hands of the Jedi.

 

And then she remembered who she was talking to.

 

No, it would not do to give pity to a Lord of the Sith.

 

As he gave her his final ultimatum, a pair of stewards appeared in the doorway. Emerald moved forward, ever so slowly, so as to not alarm the animal curled at its master's feet, and settled down gently on the edge of the nearest couch. The animal's head lifted, its growling resumed, but it seemed to be reassured by Quietus, and didn't move. The stewards came forward, setting down a tray with an assortment of hors d'oeuvres and drinks on the small table at the center of the room. To her sheer and utter delight, there was a small flask of what could only be Kashyyykian rum, and Emerald leaned forward, grasping it in her hand as the two stewards backed away, bowing lowly and not deigning to make a noise that could provoke the volatile Lord before them.

 

Gesturing with the flask, she poured two shot glasses full and edged one of them towards the Sith. Uncaring of whether or not he accepted it, she clasped hers in eager fingers and sipped it, savoring the burn that traveled down her throat before responding to Darth Quietus.

 

"Then you may be interested to know that she's not dead," she began softly. "My father was the attending physician on Hapes when she arrived to deliver her child. I assume you know she was carrying a child," she added quickly.

 

Crossing her legs at the knee, she smoothed the white dress over her thighs and took another swig of her drink before continuing. "They falsified the records to show that she died, and disposed of some orphan's body in place of hers. They held one of those Jedi funerals and everything, with the big pyre and the solemn attendance. I thought Jedi were supposed to disappear when they died," she shrugged. "In any case, no one was watching very closely, for all their caution. It was me that dropped the child at the orphanage. Her father fled back to Coruscant after promising to return for the child. Evidently there was a sister of one of them on planet at the time that was supposed to keep an eye on the kid. Anyways, she never showed up. I was paid very handsomely by a--shall we say, private investor--to take her far, far away from Hapes."

 

She eyed the Dark Lord appraisingly, falling silent. "I can give you everything I know about them, in exchange for protection for my organization. In fact, I'll do one better," she continued, leaning forward in a casual yet businesslike manner. "I can pledge you the services of my organization. Reduced fees, priority contracting. All that I know and a private group of very well-trained pirates at your leisure."

[Raynuk Montar]

Quietus gave no reaction as she responded, indicating that Jaina wasnt actually dead. He took the glass she poured, still standing and downed the drink in a single gulp. The liquid burned down his throat, but it was a sensation of pain that would only serve to fuel Quietus. He continued to listen as Emerald spoke, making no indication that he was even doing that much. When she had finished, and thus made her demands for the deal, only then did Quietus stir. The only indication of life or presence in the present, was a smirk before he pointed a finger at Emerald.

 

"Quite the tale you weave my dear pirate. But there is a flaw in it all; What makes you assume I, or any other Sith for that matter, would care about the life of an orphan? Even if it is hers. She was never even a Jedi herself, did you know that? Never managed to even complete a trial. So she was nothing to the Sith. And even from my perspective..."

 

He reached down and poured himself another full glass and quickly downed that as well.

 

"She is dead to me. Even if her body lives, she was dead to me the minute she went with him and stayed with him. So I ask you again; what use would such information be of to me? What purpose would chasing ghosts of my past have to the Sith?"

 

He began pacing the room again, clearly agitated by the whole conversation, a fact which Vex'aedr picked up on.Silence fell upon the room save for his footfalls, and then all of the sudden he stopped and turned on his heels to face her again, his eyes narrowing upon her. He had spent a fair amount of time around Emerald, but up until now he had been unable to use the Force to glean her true intentions. But now he had no such limitations. He quickly and carefully began probing her mind, and there, tucked in the back of her mind was fear, a whole glob of it. He began picking away at it, pushing past the fear she held of him, past the fear she felt for her own life on this ship, and past the fear she felt for her companions. And there in the middle of it all, was what he was searching for.

 

"What are you hiding from my dear Pirate? To seek solice in the arms of the Sith, you must be oh so desperate."

 

And a desperite band of pirates was something Quietus could use, especially if they had no other choice. He began pacing again, encompassing the entire room. He walked behind the couch that she was sitting on as he paced around the room, and spoke when he was directly behind her.

 

"Perhaps you can come up with something else to sweeten the deal, to help convince me that agreeing to your terms is worth protecting you. After all, I dont even know who or what I am to protect you from."

 

He made the suggestion casually, as if thinking out loud. To a point it was a common practice of negotiation; seeing just how much you can squeeze out of the other party. It was probably a tactic Emerald herself had engaged in many times over her career, so much so that she would pick up on the tactic instantly. The only problem was that Quietus was not making this a simple practice. He waited four steps after he spoke, and then reached out with the Force and touched her mind again.

 

He had seen just how formidable Emerald could be during her time in the jail cell. He had watched her attempt to charm him as Montar in hopes of getting an upper-hand over what she thought was a simple man. But he had rebuked her and she quickly diverged away from the tactic. Now he would turn that against her; turn her willingness into a self deprecating weapon. He would test her seemingly iron will, against herself. As he reached out to her mind, he found the sections of her mind that were responsible for emotion and feelings, and began to stimulate them, planting the seeds of lust and desire into her mind and then feeding them. He doubted that Emerald would be able to tell that he was manipulating her in this regard, having done his best to make the sudden uprising of feelings to seem natural. What he had done several times to Emily feeling like a tidal wave, to Emerald his approach was more like a river being dammed up; a slow, constant building up.

 

He would enjoy watching her react.

[Emily]

There, shining like a spike of sunlight over the verdant world, was the Shadow's Gambit.

 

As she approached, she signaled it and sent over the clearance codes she had been granted. There were only two ships that were allowed to dock on the luxury liner, and the Shadow's Shine was one of them. The crew didn't know who she was, just that she was a person of some importance. They knew better than to ask questions. Only Captain Kira knew who she really was, and he only knew she was a Sith.

 

So she received her clearance to land rather quickly, and just as quickly she slipped aboard. Upon landing, she strode down the ramp with Roe'gall on her heels. Reaching out with the Force, she quickly located Quietus. He was not bothering to be subtle, but was in full menacing Sith mode. That made her curious. So instead of heading to where he was, she made her way to the bridge. "Captain Kira," she addressed the man. "I need a status report. What is the situation, and what is Lord Quietus up to?"

 

She had made the mistake of walking into one of his operations unannounced before. That was not one she intended to make again, despite how much she wished she could go directly to him

[Raynuk Montar]

Captain Kira was just in the middle of reviewing the manifests for the latest shuttles set to depart for Corellia when the massive doors to the bridge slid open, and in walked the Lady of the Sith. He had known that she was returning to the ship, given that he cleared her to board the ship in the first place. What he did not expect however, was for her to storm her way to the bridge, bringing a darkness that could only be described as Sithly in her wake. That and her giant tuk'ata pet.

 

"M'lady, I did not expect you to join us here on the bridge. Come, and i will bring you up to speed..."

 

He put down the datapad he had been reading and ushered her away from the core of the bridge to one of the quieter corners.

 

"Im afraid that after your departure, a group of what we believe to be pirates were found aboard the ship. We believe they were going to make an attempt to either capture the ship or simply steal from it. Either way, we figured them out, and managed to capture one. A second eluded us and managed to hot-wire an escape pod and launched it during out hyperspace jump here. it is unclear what happened to that one. As for the one we captures, Lord Quietus has been interrogating her for some time, both in the detention cell she was initially put into, and the suite where he has her now. All I know is that she wanted to make some sort of offer to Lord Quietus. Beyond that, everything with the ship is running according to plan..."

 

Captain Kira realized that she most likely didnt care at all about how the ship was running, but truly had little else to tell her of consequence. There was something in the way she entered the bridge that told even someone so ignorant to the Force as Captain Kira, that she had come back to the ship for a specific purpose, a specific goal, and that it didnt involve Kira in the slightest.

[Emily]

Ironically, the news that a pirate crew had set their sights on the Gambit was unsurprising. She knew that there was no juicer target than this golden liner that promised nothing but idle luxury. And the public was unaware of Sith involvement. But what did surprise her was Kira's statement that Quietus had been interrogating the captured pirate "for some time". It sounded as though Quietus was actually somewhat intrigued by this mysterious offer this woman was making. That right there was enough to give Eris cause to pause. After all, no mere pirate could stand up to Lord Quietus if he decided to truly interrogate her. If he had wanted, he could have stripped any information directly from the pirate's mind. Or he could have killed her with a thought. No, something was going on here.

 

"Excellent, Captain," Emily finally replied. "Thank you. Carry on."

 

Much to the relief of the captain, she was sure, Eris left the bridge trailed by Roe'gall. Moving swiftly and avoiding the traffic in the corridor, she made her way to the suite where she now knew Quietus was interrogating the pirate queen. The lack of guards outside the door added another interesting layer to the puzzle. She assumed that if he had dismissed the guards, he had also disabled any interior cameras.

 

Settling in a nook across the hall from the door, Eris used the Force to sharpen her senses. She knew Quietus would have sensed her presence the moment she had stepped foot onboard. He would know she was there now, listening and ready to participate if he desired it, but for now content to simply be there and "observe" his methods.

[Emerald]

In a minute, she was swimming through clouds of torment in her own mind, as the Sith seemed to carelessly brush past the layers of motive she had constructed so carefully. He dove to the heart of the issue: why did she feel it was necessary to come here, to inquire after protection from a notoriously cold and iron-fisted group of sorcerers? She quickly began to weave in her mind a web of safety around her primary motivations. He couldn't possibly know, could he? Her blood began to boil within her, in the most curious and peculiar fashion. Rather than being frustrated or angry at Quietus' attempts to dig beneath her facade, the creeping sensation of overpowering desire filled her from the marrow out. She wasn't sure what was so magnetic about this man, other than the fact that he simply reeked of power. But the feeling soon began to overwhelm her, creating the feeling that she must act, she must do something, she had to fulfill the burning desire within her.

 

Jumping up from her seat, indiscriminate of how the beast at Quietus' feet would react, Emerald rounded the corner of the sofa where she had been perched and placed a hand on it to steady herself, facing the wall away from Quietus. Lust brimmed in her mind, and she soon found herself unable to concentrate, her very vision clouded with heat and the wrenching feeling in her gut.

 

"It doesn't matter--why I'm here. I'm not--I'm not hiding from--from anything," she breathed out with great effort. "I came--I came to make a deal. Business. Profit."

 

She looked over her shoulder toward him, viridian eyes boring into the sockets of the mask. Her face was fierce with passion, standing proud and poised like a feral cat with its prey in its sights. The plays of lust and intrigue were well known to her, and even if this sudden overpowering feeling was the work of the man standing across the room from her, it didn't matter. Emerald had been entering into the world of rampant desire and manipulation since before she knew how to fly a ship. On Hapes, it was easy to get what you wanted if you played the seduction game. She was on her home turf, now.

 

Her vision was passionately focused, her gaze unwavering. "Let me tell you something," she said, her voice throaty and deep. "I look out for myself and the things that matter to me. I see something I want, I take it. Anyone gets in my way, I take them down. These are the rules I abide by. It doesn't make many friends, but I would think a Sith of all people could understand that." She moved toward him with slow, determined steps, blood still rushing hot through her veins. "You don't care about the Jedi or her blind little Force-brat? Fine. My offer stands. The services of my organization for our protection."

 

She was standing just before him now. Tilting her face up to look directly into the mask, she reached out a hand to delicately walk her fingers up his arm before letting her hand drop back to her side. "And... my services, as a good faith offering of a mutually...beneficial...partnership."

 

Simpering, she stepped back away from him and returned to the table, tossing back another shot of rum. The fire in her gaze never wavered, the heat in her bones never abating. Emerald watched him from under heavily lidded eyes, gauging his reaction.

[Raynuk Montar]

Quietus watched, overly amused at the sight of the pirate squirming in her own skin right before his eyes. He said nothing, and did nothing to acknowledge her sudden agitated state, even when she jumped to her feet and turned her back to him. Vex'aedr for his part was clearly more keen on pouncing on what he no doubt saw as his next chew toy; the moment she stired to her feet, he was on his, his entire body tense and waiting for even a hint of unwanted motion out of the pirate. Quietus motioned with his hand almost instantly, putting the tuk'ata back at ease. He allowed himself the small luxury of a smile at the situation. He did stop meandering around the room as she spoke through harsh breaths that showed just how much she was straining against his influence. And then he saw the look behind her eyes, and knew that he had done exactly as he had intended to do. Now all that remained was to see how she would handle it.

 

In the meantime however,Quietus became acutely aware that Darth Eris had finally found it time to return. He was focused enough on the task at hand, at dealing with this pirate in front of him, that it took until she was just outside the door for him to fully grasp her presence. For a few moments he waited in silence to see if she was going to join him in the room. When it was clear that she was not going to, choosing instead to stay in the hallway and observe his tactics through the Force. He did however, want her to know that he felt her nearby, and for that reason he reached out towards her through the Force and caressed her mind gently, as if he was caressing her cheek in person. With his greeting to Eris completed, he turned his full attention back to Emerald.

 

She had begun speaking again, laying out her mindset on life. The pirate had a point, and it indeed was a frame of mind that he could understand and even relate to. The moment she began walking towards him slowly however, his mind returned to the present as he paid perfect attention to her. Despite the sheer amount of emotion and passion she was no doubt fighting against, she managed to recover enough to stick to business. But just as he thought she was going to ignore it all, her fingers began delicately drifting up his arm as her words dripped with innuendo. Had Quietus not been wearing a mask, she might have caught his brow raise slightly at her words. But as it was, all that was presented was the blank, stone-faced visage of the mask he wore. And just as quickly as she had closed the gap between them, she turned and slinked away back to the table to get another shot of the rum. As if he was not done toying with the pirate, Quietus renewed, and even intensified his influence on her as he spoke, as if triggering them with his very voice.

 

"Im afraid it absolutely matters... You are so adamant on protection; protection I might add, that I can surely afford you with ease; but you refuse to tell me who you need this protection from. Surely you can see the problem such vague dealings could create. But it is becoming clear that you simply will not tell me until I agree, now will you? "

 

He turned and approached her slowly, sending a pulse of power at her with each step closer. The last time Quietus had done this, it had been to Emily... and he had broken what remained of her purity. Now he was winding up this pirate that had gotten captured on his ship, But this time there would be no regret. In fact, the Sith had half a mind to bring Eris into the room, to see how each would react with the presence of the other; he had sensed Eris' rampant jealousy at spending time with others before, and he could only imagine what having her in the room would do to Emerald. But for now, he would keep that tactic up his sleeve should he become bored of his current tactics. As he closed in on Emerald, he instead walked behind her, giving her the faintest flash of relief before dashing it again as he paused right behind her. He turned and very nearly pressed up against her from behind, able to hear her heavy breathing from his continued efforts to push her buttons and invoke a response. Standing right behind her in such close proximity would undoubtedly make it all that much worse for the pirate he knew. His next words came to be much less harsh, almost calmer.

 

"I can respect you outlook on life my dear; Looking out for yourself and those that matter to you, a firm determination to attain your goals at all costs. But from where I am standing, it seems you have a new problemn your hands my dear. You see something you want, which by your own account you dont let anything get in the way of..."

 

As if it couldnt get any worse, Quietus reached around past Emerald and took the bottle of rum in his hand. But as he did so, his mouth came even closer, mere inches from her ear.

 

"So why dont you take it?" The words came as a whisper, almost seductively so before he finished retrieving the bottle and, taking the hand in which she was still holding her glass in his own grasp, and brought the glass up to meet the bottle as he poured her another drink. He didnt say another word as he repeated the move, this time brushing up against her slightly as he put the bottle back on the table. Quietus however, did not move, keeping his stance ever so close to hers. Whether it was out of ego, or simply meant to taunt her further, even Quietus had not fully decided.

[Emily]

The Sith Lady waited in her nook like a huntress waiting to pounce. The Force enhanced her senses so much that she could almost visualize what was going on, and she watched with the attention and focus inherent in any huntress.

 

Quietus sensed her presence, as she had expected, and reached out to affectionately brush her mind. She smiled at the contact. She had missed him, and she let that bleed back over their bond as she returned the gesture. But now was not the time for her to interrupt. She could tell Quietus would prefer she wait, letting him have an ace up his sleeve if he needed it. That was fine with Emily. She would observe, for now.

 

And what she did observe was...interesting. The pirate's feelings were easy to deduce, for she absolutely reeked of lust and desire. At first, it struck a jealous note in Eris' heart. This pirate wench was coming on to her man. Quietus was a handsome, powerful man--Eris knew that better than most--but that didn't excuse this pirate throwing herself at him. And the magnitude of her feelings was a bit surprising.

 

She turned her focus onto Quietus himself, and suddenly, she realized what was going on. Quietus was manipulating this pirate, using the same techniques he liked to tease her with. In her corner in the hallway, Eris gave a small smirk. He was tricky, that one. Clearly he felt the need to put this woman off balance. She was sure he had tried a more intimidating approach first--after all, that was Quietus' specialty--but the fact that he was now employing this trick meant that the pirate was not easily intimidated.

 

Sharpening her hearing, Emily listened in. There was some sort of deal, some protection, that this pirate queen wanted. That struck Emily as odd. Perhaps this was why Quietus had thought her worth his while. What he intended to do about the situation, though, was something she could not see in his mind. Either he was hiding it from her, or he hadn't fully decided yet.

 

She listened in silence, waiting to see what happened. She was amused by the methods Quietus was using to get what he wanted, the moment of jealousy having evaporated once she realized he was manipulating her. Although if this woman made any moves on Quietus, she would be forced to intervene. That just wouldn't do.

[Emerald]

"You still haven't agreed to my terms." Emerald grinned, and turned her face to one side so Quietus would be visible in her periphery. Her lashes swept to nearly cover her eyes, adding to the sensual energy she exuded. He was so close she could very nearly feel his breath on her neck. Her fingers tightened around her glass, and she tossed back what he had poured her before turning to face him. Her heart was hammering in her ears, but she didn't waver. Looking up into the mask, she tilted her head to one side. "And I make it a habit of at least seeing my victims' faces before seducing them." This she said with utter teasing in her tone, knowing full well that he was not to be considered a victim in anything that occurred behind this closed door. Debating her next move in her mind, weighing the likely reactions of this sorcerer to her advances, Emerald could barely control herself as her blood boiled with desire in her veins.

 

Noticeably, the lights flickered. Emerald wrote it off immediately as a fluke, just another part of being in this closeted room that seemed to have its own rules. But then it continued, and the flashing light worked a sort of anti-hypnosis on the lithe Hapan. Just as the lights came back on and returned to their normal sharp fluorescent glow, it dawned on her.

 

Sapphire. Sapphire had hacked into the system, somehow managed to locate her in this room that supposedly had no cameras, and was giving her a message. The realization smacked the sense back into her overloaded mind, the weight of desire she had been futilely trying to suppress nearly evaporating in the process. It was still there, strong vestiges of attraction that had sunk claws into her psyche, but the blonde suddenly felt much more in control of herself. Close the deal, and get out, she berated herself. I've been here too long...

 

Swallowing, she continued speaking without allowing him a moment to question, but this time, she spoke with a much more businesslike tenor. "If my terms are, in fact, acceptable to you, we can discuss business propositions, work you need done more surreptitiously than the presence of a Sith Lord calls for. I'll go on my way, you go on your way, we continue to cater to each others' interests, and we part with mutually..." She paused, letting her eyes paint a full picture of his figure, before continuing. "...amiable feelings. What say you, my lord?" Her intonation weighed heavily on the her last sentence, telling Quietus quite plainly that she still willfully entertained the flame of desire that had been kindled in the depths of her.