Nar Shaddaa. A world of criminals, outlaws and other more nefarious types. At least, the galaxy saw them as nefarious. Compared to the darkness Kathal himself experimented with every day, the denizens of the ecumenopolis were saints. When he had arrived on the world, cloaked in a dark green and gold robe, and wearing his customary bone mask, he had been attacked a dozen times within the first hour. A trail of bodies littered his path, though they were but a few among many of the corpses that brought such character to this planet. Stepping over his most recent adversary, Kathal continued his journey along the poorly lit walkway towards the flickering yellow and blue neon sign at the end of the block.
Normally, Kathal would never have come to a world like this. Perhaps he would have with a Scions strike force to secure new Neophytes, but alone, it would have been a pointless, wasted trip from Icarus. But, Borga the Hutt, a youth among his species had been making bold claims about his discovery of a relic, dug up from a Temple Vorkar agents had reported on. By the time Kathal had found the temple, it had been ransacked, defiled, by the Hutt's men. He had followed them back to Nar Shaddaa, and a few questions had led him to the Hutt's doorstep. He began to ascend the short staircase to the entrance as two bodyguards emerged from the shadows. The glow of a deathstick illuminated the rodian on the left, while the human on the right merely grinned at Kathal, half his teeth replaced by inky black fakes.
"Well well well, looks like we got ourselves a spook here. How about you turn around and walk away man, before you end up looking like that mask of yours." The rodian chuckled at his comrades comment, though the smile fell from both men's faces as Kathal continued his approach, silent, and with golden eyes glaring at them both. Pulling the blaster from his side, the human pointed it at Kathal, barking an order for him to stop. Without missing a step, Kathal reached out with the Force, and broke every bone in the man's hand except for his trigger finger. The crack from the act echoed across the block, followed quickly by the man's cries of pain. With a flick of his own wrist, Kathal forced the man to turn the blaster on his comrade, and using his one remaining working finger, shot the rodian three times. Only then did Kathal allow the man to drop the blaster, both he and his compatriot collapsing to the ground in heaps.
Pausing finally, Kathal glanced down at the moaning bodyguard, eyes filled with hatred, but also pleasure. Reaching under his robe, Kathal drew his Nevarak Blade. Made of Icorium, a metal found only on Icarus, the red silver metal glinted in the neon lights of the building, and a small pushing of the Force into the Nevarak Crystal in the hilt of the weapon woke the Smoke Demon within from its slumber. Purple and black light flicked up along the edges of the blade, creating a protective layer energy layer around the already strong Icorium blade. The bodyguard had just a moment to witness all of this before Kathal brought the Nevarak Blade around in a sweeping arc, severing the man's good hand, and most of his arm, from his body. His screams were renewed, filling Kathal with a rush of energy.
Stepping over the dying man, Kathal tore the metal door from its hinges before him, and marched into Borga the Hutt's home.
Adilya Solveig
