Private Death’s Red Right Hand

[Mauve du Vain]

Interrogation chambers ranked among Mauve’s least favorite locations. Cold. Uncomfortable. No alcohol.

The Zeltron tossed her wine-dark hair and shifted in the stiff, low backed chair. Violet eyes glowered at the one-way mirror on the opposite side of the room, beside the door. They were watching, these Sith.

Mauve supposed trying to sneak into a temple complex on one of their holy worlds did not rank among her brightest ideas. These Sith had too many factions. Where Quinn’s favoritism might get her in some doors, it left others locked. And they caught Mauve trying to shimmy the lock. Bastards.

The cold air inside the chamber made her skin prickle and she shivered slightly. Wearing a black skirt and matching halter top, she did not look the part of an infiltrator. That was the whole point. Unfortunately, the Sith were quite clever and incredibly dangerous. And now they had her here, wrists locked to the table in front of her by a set of stun cuffs.

She sighed, slipping off her heels and kicking up bare feet to rest on the frigid steel chair opposite her, legs stretched out beneath the table. They took away her gun of command, her bracelet with the personal shield generator, and even her ring with the devaronian gem. Mauve had not felt this exposed since… well. A long time. She had messed up, simple as that. She worried at the back of her lower lip with her teeth and wondered who they would send in to talk to her. Probably one of the gruesome ones with an overly large sword and spiky armor. She grimaced at the thought.

“Just hurry up and let’s get on with this,” she called to the mirror.

Honestly, I’ve places to be…

Lina Ovmar

 

[Lina Ovmar]

There was no large sword, nor spiky armour, as the door to the holding chamber swung open, just simple, high-necked black robes and soft leather gloves. Lina's emerald eyes drank in the form of the pink skinned Zeltron who had seen fit to make herself at home. Her gaze flicked to the boots and then to the feet resting on the chair opposite her.

Whispers in the shadow had told her Mauve was here, and though they had never formally met, she was more than familiar with her skillset. Info brokers were tricky creatures, and it paid to make note of those that did exist. Especially when she had once been one herself. Selling intel to the highest bidder had been the Red Hand's MO before Lina had been absorbed into the Order, and Lina never lost track of her competitors. A quiet word, a well-placed bribe, and Mauve was all hers.

She might as well have a little fun.

"Oh, my apologies, Miss du Vain. Are we keeping you from something?" Lina replied, moving forward and tugging the chair sharply out from under her feet and brushing it off like it had been dirtied before settling into it. "A precious artefact for your gallery, perhaps? Or maybe this job was for someone willing to put enough credits in your pocket to make you completely senseless?"

She dropped the datapad onto the table before resting her forearms on it. "It doesn't really matter, truth be told, you'll wind up in a slave pit either way. A shame, really, you could be a valuable asset."

Mauve du Vain

 

[Mauve du Vain]

“What is it with you Sith and enslaving people? You wouldn’t,” Mauve snapped, eyes wide.

She studied the woman before her. Older. No-nonsense, none of the frills or finery she’d come to associate with most Sith - always a stark contrast between obscene gore fetishes and velvet and lace. But this woman with the emerald eyes was neither. That made Mauve frown, her brows drawing together just a bit.

Then her eyes turned to the aura of emotions webbing out all around the woman. Orange annoyance and some gold-green glee swirling around her. Someone once told Mauve that in conversations, Zeltrons were like Sabacc players who could see everyone else’s hand. And right now, Mauve found the hand in front of her just a tad infuriating.

But she could play along.

“You already have me in cuffs,” she said, plaintive, holding up her hands, “Just… just tell me what it is you want.”

Lina Ovmar

 

[Lina Ovmar]

"Oh, I never said I would enslave you." Lina looked somewhat affronted. "I'd sell you, though, without a shred of regret. Make a pretty penny too." She sat back in her chair, plucking a loose strand from her sleeves, seemingly uninterested, feeling the woman studying her.

Good.

Her eyes shifted at the mention of the cuffs, and Lina waved her hand, and with a subtle shift in the force, they fell away from Mauve's wrists. Lina returned her full attention to the zeltron, the former shadow of a smile gone, her expression was cold.

"What is your freedom worth to you, Mauve?"

Mauve du Vain

 

[Mauve du Vain]

"Right this very moment?" Mauve pretended to check a non-existent chronometer on her suddenly unshackled wrist and recited, "Apparently, one million two hundred and seventy thousand credits," reciting the sum total of the bounties on her head from memory.

She let her hand flop the other direction, in a boneless, dismissive wave. Of course, she'd had the original posters of most of those bounties murdered or chased off into ignominy, which this woman likely knew or did not care. She didn't want to sell her, but she did want her for some purpose.

Mauve smiled, lips closed and tight, and rubbed at her wrists. "You're so very forward. All menace and stick. No carrot," she huffed, "What do you want me to do?"

Lina Ovmar

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Lina smiled, recognising that Mauve could see through her false threats. It was nice to know that her instincts about a person were correct. "I want you to do what you do best, and find something for me." She pushed herself up to her feet. "Put your boots on. I don't discuss business where I don't own the ears in the walls."

She moved for the door, reaching for the handle, pausing to cast a glance over her shoulder at the pink-skinned woman.

"Unless, of course, you want to stay here and try your luck with the authorities?"

Mauve du Vain

 

[Mauve du Vain]

The Zeltron heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes.

“Fine, fine.”

She picked up her shoes and slipped them back on, taking her sweet time and with abundant side-eye.

“Go on then, Ms. Mystery. Lead me away.”

There was something dangerous about the green-eyed woman. Mauve felt a thrill race along her spine. She did so love dangerous people.

Lina Ovmar

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Lina waited patiently until Mauve was on her feet, casting her eyes over the full ensemble with an appreciative smirk before leading them out of the room and the facility. The guards paid them no mind, aside from one at the main desk who offered a nod to Lina as they passed, tossing her a bag containing the belongings that had been confiscated. She didn't bother to look back to see if Mauve was still with her; it wasn't like the Zeltron had anywhere to go.

A sleek pale ship rested on a nearby landing pad, waiting for them, its engines humming to life as Lina came into view. Clearly designed with luxury in mind, it was the first sign of velvet and lace that perhaps Mauve had been expecting. Once alighted, the landing ramp rose beneath them, the ship taking off seemingly with a mind of its own as Lina led them to a simple lounge and set Mauve's belongings on a low table framed by soft leather couches.

She gestured to the couches. "Have a seat. Can I interest you in a drink? Tea, caff...or perhaps something a little stronger?"

Mauve du Vain

 

[Mauve du Vain]

Mauve felt like a leashed dog, following this woman out to what Mauve could only presume was her personal ship. Except, of course, that there was no collar. Not that she would put it past the Sith to try that sort of thing. As she’d learned about the various factions she’d discovered that there were some more prone toward the uncommon cruelties and sadism than others. Apparently, not this woman.

Violet eyes roved over the sleek lines of the ship with approval, even more so when the Zeltron finally sank down into the soft leather couch. She closed her eyes for the briefest of moments, enjoying a seat that wasn’t made of hard edged metal. Finally. Some fucking luxury.

“Oh, I get options now do I? What time is it?” She waved a hand, “Nevermind. It doesn’t matter. Caff. With something stronger. I think I deserve it after you made me wait in an interrogation chamber for over an hour… whoever you are.”

Once again, Mauve slipped out of her shoes and stretched like a nexu across the couch, expecting to be snapped at but she’d be damned if she wouldn’t make herself comfortable after that whole ordeal.

Not that it was over yet.

“I know everyone. Why don’t I know you?”

Lina Ovmar

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Lina didn't bat an eyelid at how quickly she made herself comfortable, chuckling at her complaints as she poured drinks, joining her at the table with a steaming cup of caff in one hand and two tumblers of amber liquid in the other. "I could have left you there all day, be grateful that I got bored myself after an hour."

She set the drinks down, settling into the chair opposite, crossing one leg over the other. She tilted her head at the question. "Because I have spent a very long time making sure I am not known. But, as that season is over and I require someone with your skill set, fortune would have it that you get to be one of the few beyond the Blackwall that get to know me. My name is Lina Ovmar."

Mauve du Vain

 

[Mauve du Vain]

“Hmm,” Mauve’s eyes narrowed on the woman’s features, then she shrugged and sat up, dumping half the contents of a glass into the caff, then grabbing the mug in both hands.

“Ovmar. Why is that familiar…”

She sipped the caf, the notes of the stimulant mixing with the zap of the liquor on her taste buds.

“Oh right. I was trying to purchase a series of artifacts a while back, kept running into the same last known owner. Some collector named Jared from forever ago. He a relative of yours?”

Lina Ovmar

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Lina took a sip of her drink, the amber liquid burning away the foul taste at the mention of her father. Their relationship was hardly loving.

"My Father." She responded, thoughtful for a moment. She hadn't considered asking him...but then he was unlikely to give anything without securing something in return, and she trusted him even less that she trusted the woman stretch across her sofa. "Though I use the term loosely."

Her head tilted, green eyes surveying the woman in front of her. Maybe, if she'd had them time and a little less on her mind, she might have appreciated the picture a little more. "Are you comfortable?" A little smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Mauve du Vain

 

[Mauve du Vain]

Mauve missed nothing. Not the tone and sudden taciturn, nor the perusal of a wandering verdant gaze.

“Is that your game, Lina? Arrest impossibly beautiful women, whisk them to your private starship, then ask if they’re comfortable?”

The tone might have been chiding, perhaps even needling. But there was an answer in those violet depths… and in the way she shifted in the sofa, stretching out her legs just so. Mauve took another sip, eyeing Lina Ovmar over the rim.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

A low chuckle rumbled in Lina's throat as Mauve stretched like cat, sinking a little further into the sofa. "That depends on who I'm playing."

She took another sip of her drink setting it down on the table. "You came from nothing, your ascension into the higher echelons of society means you appreciate luxury in a way those who have always had it never will. You could simply be content with the easy life of a curator, which no one would diminsh you, but you can't help but keep one foot in the Underworld. You like danger, it excites you, makes you feel alive."

She sat back, stretching one arm across the back of her own sofa. "A mystery sith plucks you out of prison, offers you a drink and you stretch out like a nexu in front of a fire. You don't even think twice about what you're drinking, or where she is taking you. You're an easy mark."

Mauve du Vain

 

[Mauve du Vain]

The toothless smile faltered, just for a moment, then returned, lips painted a deep plum curving.

“Yes. That’s right, Lina. You hold all the cards. So very clever. Wherever we are going," she glanced down at the cup of caff, "Whatever I'm drinking."

It might have been poisoned. Except it wasn’t.

Lina might have lured her here to push her out an airlock. Except she wasn’t.

Mauve’s Zeltron eyes watched the swimming emotions pooling about the woman.

“I’m entirely at your mercy.”

Lina Ovmar

 

[Lina Ovmar]

"I doubt that. You're smart and manipulative by nature. If you needed to tip the scales in your favour, you would," Lina lifted her hand from the back of the sofa. With a gentle flick of her fingers, the lights in the room dimmed, and a holoprojection rose from the table between them. A little tension seemed to ease from her shoulders, like the darkness granted her comfort.

"Now, if we are done playing? I'd like to discuss business."

The holoprojector activated, bathing them in a soft blue glow as two faces appeared. The first, an older woman, face lined by time with bright intelligent eyes, the second, a whipid greyed and bent by time. "Rave Merrill and Velok the Elder. Two of the greatest minds to have ever walked this galaxy. The first alchemist, the likes we have not seen since Naga Sadow, the second a collector of information."

The image shifted, first showing a forge, then it moved through a myriad of artefacts: a talisman, a phobis device, a compass, a pair of holocrons and then on, armours, amulets, swords, books, scrolls. "I want you to find as many of their possessions and creations as you can. If you cannot obtain them, then simply locating their last known location will be enough. Each item bears its own reward, though the most valuable will be the locating of Rave's Dark Forge."

Mauve du Vain