A Promising Start

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Darth Ferus"]


Kay borrowed a modified corvette from her brother [member="James Justice"] . She didn't quite say why, only that she was looking for more contracts to make. Loronar was one such place. It was close to Sith territory, but far enough away to be in neutral space.

She called up ahead and had the co-ordinates for a landing pad, as well as an apartment for her to stay in. She was going to tour the shipyards on this moon and given her title of Minister, hoops were jumped to give her a proper reception.

Kay was sure to dress the part, just as she used to when she was a Senator, but didn't overdo it. Her K1 series droid Mrs. Nesbitt was all cleaned up, the gold accents on her blue exterior sparkled in the light. Another companion was at her side as well, a young green Gwaii Cat. The two were almost linked together, but really the cat just picked up on her feelings and reacted to it. Curiosity brought the cat to her and until that curiosity was sated, he would remain.

She shrunk her Force signature down to that of a small tree nut as the ship approached the planet. There were many others coming and going. "Take us in please." She watched from the viewport as the corvette went down through the atmosphere to the designated landing pad.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Eyes were always kept on [member="Lady Kay"] . Eyes hired by a Sith Lord that seemed to have a large interest in not only her well being, but her activities as of late. Who she visits, what she does. These eyes were often blind in the republic worlds, unable to get past security or even Jedi, but there were moments when they could see all. Moments like this. To Neutral space she went, just outside Sith Space. A trap, probably, to lure Ferus out. Or just a cruise.

Either way, Ferus came. He went to this planet, and he waited. What ship she would come in, where she would land, where she would go. He knew none of it, nothing. But his eyes were here, everywhere. She could hide everything about her but perhaps her face, if she wasn't wearing a mask at least. It was all circumstantial, and the Sith Lord fully expected to not find a single clue where she was.

But he could hope at least. It had been so long since their last chat.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Once landed, she gathered her satchel and hung it over her shoulders. With her two little companions in tow, Kay exited the ship when the ramp was lowered. Instructions were given to the pilot to remain there as she planned on being there for no more than a few days.

She was greeted by a delegation of two. The man and his assistant spoke constantly, flaunting the greatness of the shipyards and what they had to offer. Kay tried to interject, but it was rather tough. Finally though she got word in to be taken to her suite so that she could unpack and ready herself for the evening's meetings. Thankfully the small delegation agreed, noting how stupid it was for themselves to not have suggested it sooner. Kay just gave them a patient smile and followed them.

Once inside of the apartment, she dropped her satchel on the bed and relaxed, flopping herself onto a big comfy chair. Mrs. Nesbitt went straight away to preparing her some tea while the Gwaii cat snooped around the room, checking out the darkness under the bed and behind the big curtains.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"It's a comfy room you have you know. High class, right?" From the shadows behind the curtain a single cloaked hand came out to gently pat the top of the Gwaii Cat. Ferus had found [member="Lady Kay"] . And as ever, he couldn't resist just stepping in from the darkness instead of just knocking. Dressed in his red and black cloak the Sith Lord stepped out, letting his red eyes drift over to the ex senator.

"I hear Mantic is still alive and well. I'm glad I didn't kill him." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but not enough to make the whole thing a false statement. Something was clearly annoying the Sith however. He moved to a nearby seat to sit, resting his hands calmly in his lap. "We have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

The voice of [member="Darth Ferus"] caught her attention immediately, causing a cold chill to go down her spine. She sat up straight in the chair and watched as he pet the Gwaii Cat who didn't show any fear. Just curiosity. Sensing Kay's alertness however, the cat moved over to be at her side and sat down. Her droid Mrs. Nesbitt gave out a few alarming beeps and rolled over towards them, almost putting itself between Kay and the Sith Lord.

Ferus always came to chat. That was his way and it was always far better than fighting. But what caused this meeting? She knew that he had spies everywhere, yet she had no idea who they were. There was always a reason for him to appear.

"I'm glad that you spared him as well. What is it that you'd like to speak about, M'lord?" There were of course many topics to choose from. She just wasn't sure of which one piqued his interest the most.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Why you didn't tell me he was alive of course. And what you've been up to now as of late. Any news that I can be told about? More secrets, more.. Well anything at this point. I'm very, very curious on what you do with your life." Fingers laced together as the Sith spoke. Calm and collected as always, and he simply cast a glance to the droid. A hand almost raised to bat the droid away as it came his way, but chose to control himself. No fighting, that's not why he came.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded slowly. Yes there was plenty to speak about. "I'm sorry, but I helped save his life when you left the shuttle. I know that he attacked you first and I tried to stop you both, but he was only trying to protect me." She sighed. "I sought his help and he learned that I was a Force user. That made him angry as I broke the law. He arrested me, I was investigated and my abilities hidden for a time. But now with the new Supreme Chancellor, he didn't approve and fired me."

She looked over to Mrs. Nesbitt. "Please make us some tea." Reluctantly, the refurbished astromech droid rolled out of the sitting area to do just that. Kay then looked up to [member="Darth Ferus"] . "He barred me from the Government. I left Commenor, disgraced. My adopted brother has taken me in and given me a job so that I can continue my work." Of course she didn't give him every detail of everything that had happened since she saw him last, but not everything needed to be told.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"I know he was only there to protect you, but he did start it. And I assumed I had finished it. I'm very impressed he's still alive, especially after getting a hole in his chest." There were no more hints of emotion, but something was amiss. He watched the droid move away, red eyes glaring holes into the machine. Man did he hate machines. He had a couple exceptions, but they were just so.. Fake.

"So the Republic turned it's back on you, just as I said it would. Why do you still bother?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

It was easy to see the disgust that [member="Darth Ferus"] had for Mrs. Nesbitt. As the droid was fashioned after herself, it only caused her to wonder.

The Gwaii cat got up and jumped onto the chair, lazily sliding his body beside Kay's on the chair, as if she was taking up too much space. But the cat was still listening and watching the encounter.

"I...I'm stubborn. And even if they've given up on me now, it might not always be that way. There's already rumours that they are preparing to allow Force users into the Senate. It's a little late for me, but it's a step forward."

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Your stubbornness gets people hurt. Your trust in the wrong people only gets them hurt. [member="Lady Kay"] , I'm here to give you a single warning. The next time you tell someone of what I'm planning, or what I'm doing, it will end badly. Most will not get this warning, and will be taken care of. Keep this in mind, my Lady." Red eyes flashed dangerously as he spoke. He let his eyes trail over to the droid, and without any movement on his person he would reach through the force to grasp the machine and lift it into the air. Uninterrupted, the Lord would begin to crush it down upon itself, ignoring any words of protest.

"I am done playing around."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay lowered her head a little as he spoke. In some ways, he was right. People did get hurt, even when her intentions was innocent. Her breathing quickened as he gave out his warnings and it was Mrs. Nesbitt's squeals as she was getting crushed that caused both her and the Gwaii cat to get off the chair.

"No!!!" She couldn't help but feel her anger boiling below her fear of who or what [member="Darth Ferus"] would destroy next. But she forced it down as she had to try to keep a level head "What do you want from me, M'Lord? I am not in the Republic's government anymore, so I can't get you anymore information on them than what you can already find on the holonet."

She clenched her jaw as she stood there, tears welling up as she wondered how she was going to explain her droid's fate to her brother [member="James Justice"] as he was the one that gave it to her. But maybe now she'll find out the real reason behind Ferus' visit.

This was giving her a feeling of deja vu. She was in a similar situation before with a Sith Lord, yet different. And it wasn't too long after these types of warnings when Kay, her husband and friends tried to break free from the Sith Lord's invisible chains, that he ended up beating them all to an inch of their lives and delivered the final blow to her husband while he made her watch. She had to keep her head down and be smarter if she was going to survive Ferus.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"What I want? I wanted to use you. To strike the Jedi and the Republic, all while you take the blame. Now? Now I simply want to watch you continue to suffer. Yes, continue. I'll let you figure that one out." With a quick close of his hand, the droid folded in on itself, crumbling away into nothing more than a misshapen ball. The screech of metal upon metal was enough to satisfy his want to destroy such abominations. Robots were nothing but an excuse for the living to be lazy. That, and it had the right reaction from [member="Lady Kay"] . The Sith Lord stood up then, offering a polite bow; perhaps as an insult, and made his way to the window.

"Oh, and it seems I won't be staying for tea this time. Remember, no one is to know about me anymore. Otherwise, I'll have to kill them. Keep that in mind when you hear about your friend, Blackstaff."

A quick step out had the Sith falling from the room, though as he landed on something solid without any form, it became clear why. His Phasma, stealthed, picked up the Sith Lord and he was gone. Though before he had left a bug was placed in the room, specifically on the Gwaii Cat when he petted the creature. Small and for the most part invisible, it would allow him to hear any conversation she had with the creature around until the bug was found, if it was.

Within his ship as he made his way out of the planets atmosphere, a single voice called out.

"Did it work the way you wanted it to?"

"For now, yes. For how long, we'll see."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Use her against the Jedi and the Republic while she took the blame? Well her asking for help from [member="Mantic Dorn"] and Agent Fixx nearly got her executed. But continue to watch her suffer? What in the Force did he mean by that? Kay would have asked him, but her attention was drawn to what was left of Mrs. Nesbitt. How was she going to explain that one to James?

Kay bowed her head as [member="Darth Ferus"] bowed. Insult or not, she knew that it signalled the end of the meeting. She kept her eyes on him until he disappeared and then grabbed her datapad and did a search on Senator Blackstaff. Reports were coming in that he was assassinated in his own home, with suspicion that the Sith were behind it. What did Senator Blackstaff do?

Kay flopped down in the chair, with the Gwaii Cat hopping up onto her lap. He stared into her eyes for a moment or two and then curled up onto her lap. She pet the Gwaii Cat while setting the datapad down and staring at what remained of Mrs. Nesbitt. How was she going to explain this to James without mentioning who did it? He's going to be quite angry.