Been Here Before. Now What?

[Kay-Larr]

The news came at a bit of a shock. No longer was she the Minister of Diplomacy for the Free Colonies for the organization had disbanded. It was disappointing as she had worked hard for them, building alliances and contracts. Of course she had some bumps along the way, but that was normal. So now what?

Kay sat at a patio table at one of the restaurants that she frequented on Bakura. One Sith space was encroaching ever closer to the planet, but had no reached it yet. So she was still safe. Or rather that was what she liked to believe. Her ship, the Free Lady was at the nearest port with her pilot, Terrac. Underneath the table by her feet was her green Gwaii Cat. She still had yet to give him a name.

As Kay sipped her tea, she observed the passers by before turning her attention back to her datapad. She was doing some research. Having recently found out that she was the daughter of two Imperial officers and had a brother that was a Stormtrooper Captain, she wanted to find out more about them. Her mother was assumed deceased, after finding a message from her at a shipwreck. But her father and older brother were very much alive. It was dangerous of course to go looking for them. She was a Republic citizen, a former Senator, and they were the First Order. She was the enemy and would probably be seen as nothing but.

Now she had nothing but time and some credits saved up for herself. She just had to figure out what to do next.

[member="Darth Ferus"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

"Another lost, hmm?" Slowly a figure would sit across from [member="Lady Kay"] . He was shrouded in darkness, only letting the fiery orbs of red that was his eyes be clearly seen. Darth Ferus once more had come to speak with the Lady, though in such a public place he wouldn't be able to do much. Much being the key word. Both of his gloved hands rested on the table, fingers intertwined to be as non threatening as a Sith Lord could be.

"Before we get to fear and intimidation, I'd like to apologize for your droid. There was a reason behind it's destruction, but I do feel slightly bad. While it's just a hunk of metal, I could see it was more." A humble nod would be offered, seeming sincere. Ferus was actually sorry, but he didn't think for a moment that the woman would believe him. "And now to business. Or the lack of. You're out of a job again Senator. What will you do now?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Darth Ferus"] caught her by surprise again. His ability to hide himself far outmatched her own. But then again he was the one that taught her and had been using that skill far more than she has.

Kay watched him intently as he folded his hands on the table. She raised a brow and lowered her tea cup as he spoke of fear and intimidation, as well as offering an apology? Mrs. Nesbitt was such a cheery little K1 unit. She had an upgraded model on order that would soon be in her possession, but for now it was just her and her Gwaii Cat companion. She turned off her datapad and folded her hands on top of it, almost mirroring him.

"Thank you for the apology....You don't have to destroy my things in order to get me to adhere to your warnings." Again he had called her Senator, just as some others still do, though she has not held that position for a while now, and probably never will. She furrowed her brows as she answered the Sith Lord's question. "I don't know what I'll do just yet. Something will come up, I'm sure. Something always does..." Though when or what that was, she had no idea.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"I didn't destroy your droid as a warning. Just as a distraction from the fact I put a wire on your cat. Speaking of, I've noticed you haven't noticed it yet. Please, remove it at your earliest convenience. I only had it there to see how well you could be trusted. Now, I'd like to earn yours." An interesting concept for sure. But the Sith Lord pulled down his hood, gazing at [member="Lady Kay"] with not the burning red eyes, but clear blue eyes. Tired eyes. "I have played the life of a Sith for as long as I can remember. Your husband was killed by my original master before the first Ferus took me away from that crazed man. I had to see how you would continue on after such a betrayal and a loss, and I brought myself into your life. I need a way out."

Desperate. That's what the Sith Lord was. Too much blood rested on his hands, and he just wanted to wash them clean.

 

[Kay-Larr]

The Gwaii Cat wasn't the type to go for cuddles. He would just be there for petting. Though at times she had the cat with others when she was on her long trips. Kay reached down under the table and searched the cat until she had found the bug. It took a few minutes, but there it was. She pulled it off, the Gwaii Cat gave her a hiss in warning. "Sorry little one."

Kay placed the bug on the table and then looked up at [member="Darth Ferus"], meeting his eyes as he told his short story. She clenched her jaw as he said that it was his Master that had killed her husband. It was event that she hadn't entirely gotten over yet. But she was managing for the most part. "First Ferus? A way out?...What are you talking about? If you are planning on me killing you, well I will have to disappoint. I've never killed anyone and I don't plan on starting with you...."

 

[Darth Ferus]

A slow blink was all Ferus could do as [member="Lady Kay"] spoke. He was silent for quite some time, just blinking at her as he processed her words. All of a sudden, a joyous laugh escaped his lips, and what could only be described as happiness appeared in his eyes. "My Lady, I'm not asking you to kill me. I'm asking you to help me escape the Sith once and for all. To start my new life. Free of the Sith, free of the Dark Side. Hell, free of the Force." With that said, the Sith brought out a single coin. It seemed so very normal, if unique, was half the size of his palm. "This coin allows me to use the Force. Without it, I'm just your every day non Force user. I just need a place to go after I make sure my last ducks are in a row."

 

[Kay-Larr]

That laughter made her feel a bit uneasy, even though the look in his eyes showed no ill will. She picked up her tea and had a sip as she listened to him. He wanted her to help him escape the Sith?

When [member="Darth Ferus"] brought the coin out, she raised a brow, having not heard of such an object before. So Ferus was a non Force user before? This was a highly unusual turn of events and she wasn't entirely sure what the catch was. There was always a catch.

"You wish to be free of the Sith? M'Lord I know that I'm not on the Sith's radar, especially since I lost my job at the Senate, but that doesn't mean that I am safe. There are other enemies out there. I could find you a place where the Sith are unlikely to be that isn't in Republic space, if that is what you are seeking."

Kay always found it hard to guess Ferus' intentions. He had turned on her before, had always figured out where she'd be before she even did. This revelation of sorts had caught her by surprise. "Would the Sith so easily allow you to leave?"

 

[Darth Ferus]

"No, they wouldn't. But, it won't be hard to fake my death. Or something similar. Once the new Ferus is in place, no one will bother searching for me. Especially when I can no longer use the Force." The tall form leaned back in his chair then, his hands falling to his lap as he looked up to the ceiling. [member="Lady Kay"] didn't trust him. Nor should she, with what he's done done to her. Hell, what he's done period. He really was an abomination.

"I don't know anyone else. And I don't trust anyone else. You live your life to free others, and I want to know what that's like. I want to be the liberator in my own way instead of the oppressor. I can never atone for my sins, but perhaps I can learn what it's like to be human again." For my daughter. The last part rang through Ferus's head. The coin paled in comparison to this secret. His child, the last innocent part of his life, could not be known. Not yet at least. He needed to find a way to be good again, or at least something close to it. "Everything I've done has been purely random. I'm not a mastermind pulling the strings like my old master. I'm not a crazed beast like the first Ferus. I'm just lost."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Again his words caught her by surprise. She stared at nothing in particular as she mulled over his words. If he spoke the truth then she just couldn't turn him down. That would be heartless. She had to give him the chance to free himself from the Sith and what he no longer wished to be.

Finally she spoke to [member="Darth Ferus"] as she lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. "Alright. I will help you. And there are plenty of others that could use your help too. We can't save everyone, but at least we can try."

He was already well on his way to saving himself.

 

[Darth Ferus]

"We'll see how much I'll be able to help others. It's not my strong suit. But.. I'll follow your lead." The most the Sith could do now was bow his head. [member="Lady Kay"] didn't know all the details, but she had just saved more than one life with this. Well, perhaps. Ferus stood up rather abruptly, letting fly the tattered cloak he had become known for. Underneath was simple merchant clothing, as well as an Iridonian Slugthrower clearly strapped to his waist. He was unrecognizable to practically everyone who knew him.

"Just as a side note though, the Assassins have deemed you a target for elimination now that you no longer have any use. That would be the second reason for my visit. I'm here to get you out alive."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nearly spilled her tea as [member="Darth Ferus"] quickly got to feet. For a second she wasn't sure what he was up to, until he took off his cloak. Well at least people wouldn't recognize him.

His latest revelation however gave her a slight chill down her spine. "I'm a target just because I'm no longer in government? What is it that they think that I'll do? Tell the Republic who they are? I haven't even seen them myself. There has only been you." She furrowed her brows as she tried to make sense of their logic. "I'm not a threat to them. I just don't understand..."

In a way she felt somewhat like a child. Ferus wasn't the only one that was lost, afterall. Kay finished her tea and got to her feet. "Well if I'm being targeted, I'm certainly not going to be safe here. Let's get off world. Hopefully they don't know what ship is mine." She hadn't decided where they were going to go just yet, but they needed to get further away from Sith space.

 

[Soldiers By Kage]

"Oh they most likely do know what ship is yours. If I could find the exact transport ship you'd be taking with Mantic Dorn, I am fairly certain they'd find yours. Now, don't freak out so much. Walk casually. They're already here, which is why I toss the cloak. You are to call me Lucy, and we have been business friends for some time. Understood?" The words were so soft spoken they would have been easy to miss, if not for the echo Ferus was making sure [member="Lady Kay"] could hear. With that, the man walked over to her, and offered an arm. "Now come on, we have to get to the spaceport. Gotta catch a ride back to good ol' Tatooine yeah?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded a little, shouldering her satchel. She took his arm and walked with him out of the restaurant towards the port. She wasn't fond of the idea of leaving the Free Lady behind, and will have to send a message to her pilot later. The old guy would probably start to worry after a while.

"Tatooine? I haven't been there for a while, Lucy." It felt odd to call him that, instead of by his title. But then he didn't look like himself either. "With the Hutt Cartel disbanded, it should be easier to stop the slavers. And there's a few exotic teas that I could pick up as well."

Perhaps one of these days when she retires, she'll own a tea hut.

[member="Lucifer Morningstar"]

 

[Soldiers By Kage]

"There's a couple more things we're going to be doing there as well, just as a heads up. I have a friend there I'd like to introduce you to." Well, not on Tatooine. But with the Assassins closing in, he couldn't actually say where. Out of the corner of his eye he could see one of the shrouded figures moving to close in on them. So much for a calm walk. He began to move faster, [member="Lady Kay"] 's arm in his, towards the spaceport and the freedom from this hunt they were going for. It was clear where they were going though, and a frown settled on the mans lips.

"There's going to be a bit of a problem. They know where we're going to go, and they're going to set up a trap. Can you fight?" His voice was low, and despite the fake smile on Lucy's face, concern was clear. Without the Force the soon to be ex Sith wouldn't be able to handle all the Assassins on his own.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was a second behind him as [member="Lucifer Morningstar"] quickened his pace. She clenched her jaw as she saw the shadows moving through the crowd. If a trap was being set for them, why would they choose to walk into it unprepared? And there were so many people that could be caught in the middle.

She pulled at his arm to steer him in a different direction, going down one of the side streets instead of one of the transport stations. "This way, Lucy. I need to grab my bags from my apartment first." Of course she had no apartment, but maybe the assassins didn't know that. She whispered to him as they walked, keeping their pace quick. "I can fight a little. I recently had some training in blocking and shielding techniques, plus I have my blaster too." Kay was used to others fighting for her or of escaping captors. Fighting Sith assassins for her life was very different indeed.

Meanwhile the Gwaii cat kept pace with them in his own way. Being small he was able to follow unnoticed, and being semi-sentient, he was able to tell when his travelling companion was in danger.