Public C L O U D S I C K N E S S

[Shego Striga]

RIFF RAFF? STREET RAT? NEVER STOPPED ME~
{X}

City In the Clouds, Bespin

​

Your head is always in the clouds dear Doctor, eventually you'll get to close to the sun. A tickling notion, one the blossoming mind welcomed with an almost morbid fascination. As if she were a moth eager to burn by a light so captivating one couldn't do anything more than just draw closer. An assured destruction, the light at the end of a tunnel that the Dr had only just begun to enter. It was maddening, the dark, like a cosmic force threatening to twist the soul and mind.

She had been trapped int he dark so long, surrounded by a softness one could mistake for safety but to Shego only reminded her of a cage for the mind and body. Haunting and vivid memories of The Institution poisoned her mind now, causing a dreading paranoia. The procedures, the stillness of a mind gone stagnant after being addled and choked to suffocation by mind twisting medications and conditioning.

She was only there a year, and the damage done made Shego feel as if she were there for decades. All sense of time becoming lose to her and existence spiraling into a one way destination of flames and guaranteed self destruction. She would have self destructed if she spent another day in that place, neigh, another second.

A beautiful mind should never be imprisoned and drowned in a haze of meaningless numbness. But The Heart? The Soul?

Cancers better left cut away. Philosophically speaking of course.

Shego couldn't allow herself to slip anymore, to be distracted. She could feel it now, the poison in her blood spreading like a disease as a low, rasping wheezed out into the air. The strained cough sputtering from dark colored lips as a young woman laid face down on the bathroom floor. The veins in her forehead swelled, trembling under weak muscles as the taste or iron filled her mouth after each cough which only became progressively worse. Bringing a hand to her mouth and rasping into it violently as her visioned blurred and light in the room intensified for a brief flash.

Deafening ringing in her ears caused Shego to clench at the toilet as her symptoms flared only to then subside moments later. Barely able to bring herself up to her feet Shego spat bloody nastiness into the porcelain bowl. Hands clumsily flicking at the lever and flushing her sickness down the drain as Shego shakily adjusted her clothes, straightening her turtleneck and pulling back her dark hair before pulling out a datapad and switching it to life.

Toxic green eyes shifted over the timestamp. Grimacing outwardly and curling her lip back in a quiet sneer, reaching into the corner of the stall and grabbing a long, metal walking cane.

She had been out for almost twenty or so minutes. The symptoms were getting worse, now it was all she could manage just to find a bathroom or broom closet to isolate herself during these moments of vulnerability. Sticking the pad back into her jacket Shego stumbled out of the stall and tumbled towards the sink with her cane. Twisting the nozzle and leaning downward to wash her mouth of the sickly blood that stained her teeth. Washing her hands and breathing rather uncomfortably before finishing up and exiting through the door.

Immediately upon entering the other side Shego was immediately reminded why she had ended up face down in the bathroom for nearly half an hour. The hustle and bustle of Bespin never ceased to amaze, especially on the upper levels. Butler droids with trays of various exotic drinks and treats drifted by Shego, heading into a large hall filled with guest from every walk of life. Incredibly wealthy investors, successful businessmen, Drug Lords, Tycoons, political types, government envoys.

The Riff Raff with a beautiful albeit fractured mind was far out of place here. But she did her best to look like she belong, maintain composure. Keep her posture and mind her etiquette among these people. The searing pain rippling up her spine caused her to walk slowly, the cane in her hand gripped tight as a twisting expression of pain and discomfort decorated her face with each motion until a voice rang out towards her.

"Young Dr! I had wondered where you vanished off to, figured you had left already! Socializing not getting you down is it? I know how you lab rats can be~" A loud, boisterous voice mockingly teased. The annoying voice of the man causing the ringing in her ears to return for the briefest of moments as if his sheer existence brought on her sickness. A hand on her shoulder bringing her reasonable mind back from the brink of shattering. Her expression returning to a neutral slate with a slow, friendly smile creeping across the corners of her lips.

"Mmn? Ah, well, i wasn't feeling well. Besides, you know a girls gotta freshen up." She responded with a cool tone, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets as the man grabbed a drink from the droid who walked by again.

"I understand i understand completely. Gets stuffy in here with these people, but i fear i have just gotten used to it. Before you left you mentioned something about searching for some lost A.I?" He questioned with a quirk of his brow.

"A family of A.I yes, highly advanced, designed by...special minds. It is my understanding two of them have passed through your company after being purchased from...undisclosed sources." Shego explained, clearing her throat as to not sound awkward while the man shifted his eyes back and forth in the room almost suspiciously.

"Ah, yes. Well i'm not sure who told you what but The Company has a vast collection of technologies going through us. Defenses, weapons, even the day to day. If we have A.I it would be ran through our robotics wing, they love that stuff down there. But specific to what your looking for? I can't promise we'll have what you are looking for though. But by the off chance we even do, what would you be willing to pay? For such a thing mean." He casually told Shego, igniting a slight spark of agitation in the back of her mind.

She was being played, she could feel it. He had the systems she knew he did, she couldn't disclose how but he was keeping SISTER from her as well as BROTHER but how to get it out of him without playing her hand would be...challenging.

"Lets just say we can help each other, if we keep our minds open. But i'm not going to break my back for outdated tech from a dead world. I was merely curious~" She mused, walking past the man and entering the main axiom where many of the guest resided. "Besides, with as many people here. Someone is bound to have something i need for my research, even if its not you~" She quipped, attempting to cast some bait and make him believe that whatever he had, she didn't even want.

Keeping a steady stride with her cane, her free hand plucked a roll of sushi from a tray and popped it into her mouth as she began to chew gently and walked about the celebratory event looking for her next opportunity.

The game was afoot.

​

 

[Lliara Daeva]

Laughter. An olive-green Mirialan lightly laid a hand on the upper-arm of someone with a little girth and an extravagant sense of fashion. The pair had been bantering back and forth jovially for a few minutes now. Meanwhile, a third personage, clean if less well-off, stood nearby with their gaze averted and a slight grimace at the corner of their mouth.

Someone called out a name and the man turned. With a slight bow, the man excused himself with an assurance to return shortly. The Mirialan woman smiled back and accepted the kiss on the back of her hand as a promise with a tip of the head. It was a busy place with familiar faces. No harm in letting people greet one another. She was confident the man would return.

"Then it is at an end," the remaining man hissed as she stepped in a little closer now that the woman wasn't preoccupied.

Golden rings sparkled in the light as she casually slipped over to the instant man demanding her attention. "It is ended when I say it is, my dear. Nothing between us has changed. If others were to learn what I know of you, why there would still be dreadful consequences."

"You wanted an introduction, and you have it. What more could you possibly want?"

Lliara's smile grew. "The galaxy of you, my dear. The galaxy." She made as if to reach out and take the man's hand, but it was drawn quickly out of reach. That only seemed to amuse the green woman. "Now, why don't you get me a drink." Her empty glass was lifted up and given a slow shake. "All this talking has left me parched."

After he'd gone, the Mirialan's left forearm rolled over and a small holoprojection appeared suspended in the air. Her golden eyes beheld the contents displayed there. It wasn't her Primary research project -- that information would never be displayed openly -- but it was... a side project. There were strange creatures that prowled the dark places of the galaxy. Places undisturbed for generations, perhaps longer. Such things, at times, had unique chemical and biological properties worth study. This one happened to be a rather insidious pathogen. Far more complicated than any with a glance could begin to surmise. Far more dangerous than any dare dream.

As unlikely as it was the thing should be unleashed on the galaxy, Lliara liked to be prepared. A vaccine for herself alone would be worth the study. Though there were a few others she'd be inclined to offer it to as well. Then a greater number she'd extort for it, if the pestilence did spread. It never hurt to have contingencies in place; if she could find this terror, then it became statistically more likely than another would as well.

Shego Striga

 

[Zefgahld Qojex]

Zefgahld defiantly reached around the protocol droid in front of her, a silver-white-furred hand clasping a thin glass of a recognizable-looking liquid from a service droid that happened to be rolling just behind the dull green and (oddly) gemstone-encrusted droid that had accosted her at the door. Casting her violet, weary eyes over the droid, she found herself silently admiring the intricacies painstakingly woven across the droid's outer shell, crisscrossing his frame in pearl and fiery-orange, intricately-carved stones. While that was, itself, an exquisite form of beauty, it just didn't match the ugly sewer-green of the droid's plating. It was an attempt at a decoration. An attempt...

The droid must have had limited programming, or else it chose to ignore the Amaran who was now swirling her drink in the glass she had taken from behind him, leaning an elbow casually against the open doorframe as her tail swayed behind her, black-tipped and rippling with its soft, impressive tan fur, drifting through the air impatiently.

"It's on your guest list, I'm sure of it: I'm Falo Loffkeq, and I'm here to meet with Professor Mevhka, a rather crotchety attendee at this gala; then I need to report to the other technicians for some light work to keep this party running... Please, re-check your Master's records..." The Amaran sighed, doing her best to keep her patience up - her counselor had recommended that she do better at managing her emotions, and this was, in his words, "A time to exercise your moral foundation."

The insect-like head of the oddly-decorated LOM-series protocol swiveled, as though regarding the vulpine quizzically. A moment passed, as "Falo" took a sip of the frosted, cloudy-looking alcohol in the glass she had taken - a delightful refreshment that bathed and danced over her ghost-white tongue, causing one corner of her mouth to raise in satisfaction. It was JUST what she had suspected it was: tuber-derived, pleasantly burning along the maw, and wonderfully infused with a spicy, thin sauce usually reserved for finely-roasted meats...

The droid's dull, scratching, almost bored-sounding voice assented at last, "My mistake, Madame Loffkeq." The machine's arm pivoted artificially, as an organic would do to gesture hospitably, "Go about your business."

Nodding and smiling away the explosive response that had been building up in the back of her throat, the Amaran casually tilted back the remainder of the lovely, exotic drink that so wonderfully pleased her palate and left her forehead beading with sweat rather pleasantly between the fur itself as she sauntered her way in. A hand lowered the empty glass onto a tray as another refurbished astromech rolled by, her free hand clasping a second glass of the same cloudy liquid, so delightfully sauce-infused...

Raising this second glass to her muzzle and silently resolving to settle into and savor this drink more slowly, "Falo Loffkeq" allowed her contact-laden "purple" eyes to survey the crowd of assembled beings, grunting in disapproval at a handsy Arkudan, the ursinoid's thick, gray-furred, clawed hand grasping at a Gamorrean female's... Expanse of a backside... As though it were a life preserver through her form-fitting purple dress. Raising an eyebrow at the ursine, the Amaran grunted and waved a finger at him in disapproval, gesturing with her thumb at the surrounding organics and droids alike.

"None of my business, but on your own schedule, Sir... Just be sure you love her..."

Flicking her black-tipped tail in irritation even as the ursine raised a hand to defiantly slap at the Gamorrean's bottom, the Arkudan retorted, "You're a servant, aren't you? Must be with that getup... Get back to minding the data terminals..." his harsh tone ended in a sneer and, after a moment's thought, the Amaran remembered her guise.

"Have a pleasant evening, Sir..." She grimaced at an unsanitary mental image of them, then folded her large triangular ears backwards, "...I suppose."

Indeed, the Amaran, disguised in a dyed fur tone (save for the natural tip of her tail) and in costume, recalled that she was here to pass along information before getting back to her vacation, and the Paigun she was supposed to meet had to be somewhere in this crowd of eclectics from every walk of life. While she had been worried about being out of place, Zefgahld felt it would be easy enough to pass unnoticed as a worker, and maybe even glean some information regarding the veracity of any rumors of corruption among the guests themselves. Affixing a metal band around the back of her head, interlaced with circuitry woven throughout a small antenna jutting just above her hairline of dyed black hair, as well as through the band and earpiece in one ear, the Amaran now looked the part of a technician. All she had to do now was avoid any of the hosts, who might not recognize her as being official staff... A servant droid was one thing to bypass, but the hosts themselves were another matter entirely.

Clad in loose-fitting, faded blue pants and a matching, loose and worn tunic, the vulpinoid, was a thin, demure and somewhat unkempt-looking woman barely entering adulthood, shorter then the average human, yet sporting a distinct athleticism even despite her petite, boyish little body. Dyed tan fur and black hair along with purple contacts served as much of a disguise for her now as her costume did, allowing her, as "Falo Loffkeq", the liberty to briefly conduct business with another guest she was to meet, before "reporting in" with a crew of technicians and, from there, gaining access to the one data terminal she would need at this rather posh residence...

Hiking up her breeches to keep her modesty intact (and unknowingly drawing the lascivious gaze of the very Arkudan she had reprimanded earlier as the garment rode up; the she-Gamorrean would notice and slap him a moment after "Falo" ventured off into the crowd...), the young Amaran was happy to now be in place, and it helped that no one suspected a thing... Now, it was just a matter of finding the grouchy bastard that was Vahlij Mevhka, wherever he might have been.

For an overgrown vegetable, he sure is hard to find. The vulpine thought, even as she scanned the laughing, chattering crowd for the man who would pay her this evening...

(Hope you don't mind my joining. Also, I'll make my next posts shorter. All my other characters are NPCs when they're not mains, and this'll be his only appearance in the tale, in this next post, so you all know.)

 

[Laphisto]

laphisto had made his way through the party, towards the sounds of life, bumping into the occasional droid with a slight grumbled growl. He was there on business, looking for potential buyers, anyone that might have been interested in his weapons. He needed to procure credits to keep funding his operations. The Lilaste order was still very new in the galaxy at hand, and with the most recent trade deal, they had procured with the Hutts to establish trade to supply metals and other resources to Aurora Stations Foundry halls. It was almost time for renewal, and he was still short on credits.

His original hope was that such a high-profile party would allow him to meet a buyer so he could sell the equipment. Though how he got into a formal party dressed in a set of Beskar'gam could have been anyone's guess, he looked more like a mercenary than anything else. Having a satchel on his right side and what resembled a broken Vibrosword on his left. If it weren't for his armor, his stature would make him stand out the most, standing tall at seven foot eight with wings and a tail a dark emerald green color. Though if he truly stuck out or not, he couldn't tell; his vision had blurred millennia ago due to Carbonite poisoning.

His only way of seeing properly was through Force sight, which allowed him to see people through the force, but in turn, left him unable to see droids and force dead species. as he walked, he would have a drink in hand, moving from group to group and eavesdropping on their conversations trying to pinpoint anyone who may be in the market for new weapons and war machines. with his current state of vision he was prone to running into people and or stepping on tails.

Grabbing as his communicator, he would grumble with a soft sigh shaking his head as he called into his men, " no luck here so far owen, do you have the location of another gathering? We need to find someone to sell these weapons to, if not the supply of the Lilaste order chain may be cut off." it was an unfortunate reality, but one he had inevitably set himself in when he sought out trade deals to supply his faction with minerals.

Shego Striga Lliara Daeva Zefgahld Qojex