Entropy

[Rakaan Horne]

NAR SHADDAA

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SHADOW TOWN STREETS

Kole's face went blank, devoid of expression. As did his mind.

"I'dunno." He answered truthfully.

There was a feeling he had that this was just right. Someone was in need of help, someone who wasn't a criminal through and through. Maybe it reminded him for better days, days apart of the Coruscant Security Force where he made a difference, he could help people. Working Homicide had it's ups and downs but knowing one less killer was roaming the streets, and busting corrupt Officers as apart of Internal Affairs seemed to make it all worth it. It had been a long fall from the top, especially after being left in the dirt for a crime he didn't commit. Nobody had his back, nobody tried to contact him. They only wanted Harper dead, and for reasons he didn't quite understand.

That was his lot in life.

"What do you think you did before..." He changed the subject, offering a glance back up into those blues of hers.

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[member="Sortz"]

 

[Sortz]

She wasn't sure what answer she'd been expecting.... but she'd been hoping for something. At least it sounded honest, not like a blow off. For the first time she had to wonder if, maybe, he was just as lost as she was.

Just maybe in a different way.

His question made her draw in a deep breath, hold it in her chest for a moment, then let it out in one, long low whoosh of complication.

"I. Uh. I'm good with computers," she said. "So, I had figured probably that? But."

There was a pause and then a shrug. Like it didn't matter. Except that it very, very much did.

"If I was, then I would have found myself. I'm not that good. There are people better than me.... and I found their traces. And I can see what tracks I'm leaving in the systems, ya know? I know what to look for and I'm just....."

Not there.

"Someone I know thought data smuggling maybe.... got some hardware in my skull," she laughed a little, the sound rueful. "Plenty of spare room, yah? But can't access anything on it. It. Uh. The firewall on it is kind whoa."

She'd ruined Daro's whole rig when they'd tried.

"Got a lot of scars. Fighting scars. So I figured.... why not start there?"

A sideways glance at him.

"You.... just work as.... I don't actually know what it's called. What you do. In the arena I mean."

[member="Kole Harper"]

 

[Rakaan Horne]

NAR SHADDAA

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SHADOW TOWN STREETS

There seemed to be a lit of pauses and divergence in Sortz's recollection, only going to show how she truly had no clue as to who she was. Might of just been thinking aloud. Kole was figured himself for someone who was just lost, someone who only needed to find themselves to live out the life they deserve. Yet Sortz was worse, for she didn't know who she was in the literal sense. He couldn't begin to fathom what that was like, and for the first time in a long while he felt sympathy. He had enough to go around; nobody deserved it down here.

​His expression remained vacant, staring ahead as he spoke, "Bad things." Reminding himself. His tone seemingly disinterested as he then turned up to her mid-stride. "The 'Underground' is just a front." An honest answer, truly. It wasn't as if she was going to the authorities, and even then what did he care? In the next few months another place like that was to pop up somewhere.

"It's only temporary." Harper continued. Reassuring himself.

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[member="Sortz"]

 

[Sortz]

She blinked down at him in surprise.

"Well." She said slowly, like she was tasting the words before trying them out. "Everything's temporary, isn't it?"

Sortz wasn't about to judge him on his 'bad things'. Where was she? Willing to pound another being into a pulp for information that might exist. She worked for [member="Daro Tarsi"], and he wasn't a saint by any stretch. Her mind flickered back to that one night. The look of panic on the man's face when he'd realized that Daro meant it. The way he'd squirmed when her hand had closed on his kneecap.

It had never sat well with her.

But she'd done it. And if he asked her to.... would she do it again?

Probably.

It had been easy. That was part of what bothered her. It should have been harder. Not physically, but mentally. Emotionally. The fact that it hadn't bothered her enough to tell Daro 'no'. That she wouldn't hurt someone for him to prove a point. She'd helped him steal. Helped him hurt someone. Why?

Because he'd helped her.

Her shoulders hunched slightly.

"Everything changes. Nothing stays the same. So. Yeah. If you want it to change. You can."

It was weird, feeling the way she did- and offering advice. Because that wasn't entirely ridiculous.

"That's what I think anyway," she muttered, almost apologetically.

They rounded a corner, and the change in the atmosphere was pronounced. There was nothing quite like spaces owned by hutts. There was no mistaking it.

[member="Kole Harper"]

 

[Rakaan Horne]

NAR SHADDAA

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HUTT TERRITORY

"Hmph." Kole huffed in acceptance. Staring ahead, not focusing on anything in particular.

It was always easier said than done. This life wasn't something Kole wanted, but was instead forced into- in a manner of speaking. It just so happened to be the simplest thing to get into, especially when you had skills that were combat orientated or had knowledge which allowed you to give lawmen the slip.

It was in that moment he noticed he had no goals, or even a basic plan of what was to come next. He simply lived each day, not knowing what was coming next. No excitement, no desire. Just another day. It was a sad reality, but Kole didn't want any pity. At least he found comfort in knowing he had some responsibility, something to do.

Then came Hutt town.

​"Just..." He shot a brief glance up at Sortz, knowing that telling her to try and blend in was obviously futile. "Don't look at anyone." He figured himself the expert on this planet's underworld, at least to an extent. Whenever he came here his hands were buried in his pockets and his head hung low. There wasn't much advice to give to someone like Sortz.

 

[Sortz]

Sortz was actually really good at avoiding unwanted eye contact. The issue was more that it didn't do much good. She tended to attract attention. It was difficult not to, considering she towered chest, shoulders and head above most other sentients. But she nodded, because it was good advice, and the two plowed on.

The back of her neck itched. She hated the feeling of knowing people were watching.

"Do you know who I need to talk to?" She asked, her voice pitched low, just to him as they threaded through the crowd.

Usually, people made way for Sortz. Unless they wanted to cause trouble. Here it was different. While no one was actively attempting to bump chests or pick fights, people weren't making it easy for them either. Sortz didn't know what this was exactly the kind of test one would expect to find in a place like this- pushing boundaries, seeing where someone drew the lines.

"Excuse me, pardon us," she muttered absently, trying not to simply elbow her way through.

[member="Kole Harper"]

 

[Rakaan Horne]

NAR SHADDAA

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HUTT TERRITORY

Kole was no Sortz, and when people bumped into her they bumped into him twice as hard. Large alien species made short work of a man such as him, but he was sturdy enough and he stood his ground. Otherwise he'd be biting the dust quicker than you'd think. It was just how things were in Hutt Territory. Everyone was the tough guy until someone bigger, someone badder came along and put you in your place. The secret was to know your boundaries, and to never overstep your mark.

"Trandoshan. Name's Husskar." Those lizards often had strange names, but Kole was never in the wrong state of mind to tell a carnivore like that what he thought fit. Unless he had a sick desire to get eaten alive, or torn apart limb-by-limb.

​"Don't speak​." He quickly warned. Kole wasn't particularly afraid for himself but if he was able to minimise anything Sortz did? This could come across much easier. Trust was a factor, and whilst she seemed genuine, you never knew.

-----

​In time, the two entered a smaller complex off of the street. It was pristine in it's condition, nothing like the street outside or the 'Underground'. Seemed as if it was a legitimate business, at least from the entry room.

A Rodian sat behind a desk that happened to be behind a protective piece of glass. Seemingly disinterested, bored and otherwise preoccupied with whatever was on the terminal in front of it. Kole didn't pay the green-skinned alien much mind either, instead heading towards the two doors which led into a long, white, empty corridor with muffled cheering at the other side.

The Alien's head peered up, taking a glance to Kole, *"Back for more, Kole?"* It was obvious he'd been here before. Though the Rodian was ignored, and Harper proceeded through the doors onto the other side. *"Weirdo."* It muttered beneath his breath.

[member="Sortz"]

 

[Sortz]

"Trandoshan. Husskar. Got it."

She didn't reply to his comment to not say anything. He'd said not to say anything after all. So she just nodded and followed. She was still vaguely (but pleasantly) baffled by his help. But she wasn't about to argue with him. She kept her head down, yes, but couldn't help but look around sideways as they headed inside.

It wasn't like the place they had just left. There had been something.... she surprised herself by calling it 'lower key' about the place she'd met Kole in. No, that was wrong. She honestly couldn't put it into words, but that one was what she had half been expecting. This was something different entirely. This was both too clean and too sinister. While she hadn't been comfortable in the first place?

Something about this place made her itch.

She could hear the cheering (or was it jeering? It was hard to tell, muffled as it was through the door), her eyes flicking over to the Rodian. Their eyes met and Sortz looked away first. She hated it when people sized her up like that. Never knew just what it meant, but it never meant anything good. Some folks were more subtle about it. The Rodian? Was not.

She stepped up faster behind Kole, heading through the doors. They shut behind them with a surprisingly quiet click. As they headed down the white hallway, Sortz could feel the sound from behind the last door through the floor.

"Kole, uh, there be anything I need to know? Before we go through that door?"

[member="Kole Harper"]

 

[Rakaan Horne]

NAR SHADDAA

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HUTT TERRITORY

Kole continued to walk in silence. The two doors ahead of him further pulsated with life, seemingly shaking with the the loud, meaty thuds that originated from the other side. Whatever was beyond, it wasn't as pretty as these hells. It was a violent pit where the worst of the worst came to make a quick cred in exchange of a few years of their lives- ultimately shaving some off for the future they earned. Others? Hell, some even died in that ring.

"Same as before." He dryly replied, not taking the sliver of a second it would take to glance up in her direction. A cold chill rushing through the room they walked through, but fortunately Kole was rather warm from his coat although he still shuddered slightly as it rushed up his spine. "Just follow me."

In time, they moved through the doors. Met with a crowded room that didn't pay them any mind, except for the few wandering eyes that traced Sortz's every movement. The ring was similar to the 'underground', except larger and housing multiple combatants at once as if they were contending in some sort of Battle Royale. Kole kept a clear head, he knew where he was going. Approaching the stairs, two armed individuals cast a suspicious glance for the briefest of moments, letting Kole straight on through whilst being entirely disapproving of Sortz until the HRD waved her through.

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[member="Sortz"]

 

[Sortz]

The first place had been bad. She hadn't liked it at all. There had been nothing about the atmosphere that had felt good to the Tro'zet. Everything about it had been wrong. But compared to this? The warehouse she'd met Kole at had been a walk in the park. There was a greed in the air here that had nothing to do with credits changing hands (though there was plenty of that). People weren't here primarily to make money.

They were here to watch people bleed.

And if they died?

So much the better.

Sortz kept her head down, following along in the wake behind Kole. It was clear he was known here, and for a moment, Sortz wondered if she'd made a mistake. He'd been the one who had gotten her in the ring the first time. What if this was just more of the same? She didn't want to think that, but it bubbled up, leaving her feeling torn and wary. She glanced at the pair of guards as she passed them, following Kole up, but their faces gave away nothing. At least, nothing useful or unexpected. Distrust. Barely concealed violence. A sneer.

She turned her attention back to Kole's shoulders.

Up the stairs to the top of the arena. Another set of guards, these even nastier than the first.

"Kole Harper," came a sibilant voice from beyond them. "Back for another round? I seeee you brought a contender. Hope sssshe'ssss better than the lassssst one."

Sortz almost blew his 'stay quiet' right then and there. Fortunately, Kole spoke up first.

[member="Kole Harper"]

 

[Rakaan Horne]

NAR SHADDAA

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HUTT TERRITORY

It was true.

Kole frequented establishments such as this, and this one was the best of them all. It was where the most sadistic came to play, the ones with the most credits and the most to lose. He even entered the ring once or twice, and the beneficial traits of being a HRD came into play. They never scanned him, and so he was even kept hidden from himself. Nobody fought fair here. In fact, the dirtier the better. It made it all the more exciting when someone died in the ring. Except when you were their friend, but nobody here had any friends. They couldn't afford them.

Husskar greeted Kole with that reptilian hiss and his artificial blood ran cold. He never could get used to the flick of that tongue and those animalistic eyes. "Only questions today." He replied truthfully. Sortz didn't deserve that foul treatment.

The HRD's gaze shifted back to Sortz, nodding in the Lizard's direction as if he was prompting her forward to ask the questions herself. His part was done. Mostly, that is.

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[member="Sortz"]

 

[Sortz]

Sortz stepped up, and the discussion started. Unlike with her first stop, this one was different. Harder in some ways, easier in others. The Trandoshan asked piercing, even personal questions, and as much as she tried to avoid letting on that she was looking for herself he wasn't an idiot. She knew intrinsically that this was not a place she could risk trust, not like how she had before.

"We've had sssseveral Tro'zzzzet come throoooough, yesssss," he hissed, clawed hand plucking at his tunic absently. "But you sssseeee," an unpleasant smile. "I only remember them when I sssseee them fight."

His hands spread wide in a gesture to indicate helplessness. Of course, it wasn't an accident.

"Ssssooo unless you can bring them here, I couldn't tell you if I've sssseeeeen them," he continued, a sly glint in his eye. "But then, if you had them, you wouldn't need me, hmmmm?"

It would be clear to Kole that he was attempting to bait Sortz into revealing just what she was truly looking for.

The Tro'zet reached up, running her hand through her hair in frustration.

"Me," she said finally. "Do you recognize me."

The trandoshan's smile widened.

"Aaaahhhh I sssseeee..... like I ssssaid already. Don't remember faces," he scuffed the floor as if ashamed of that fact. He was nothing of the sort. "Only fightsssss." Reptilian eyes settled on Kole. "Why don't you give your friend a hand, hmm? Let her sssshow me how she doesssss?"

There was nothing pleasant in the expression on the creature's face.

[member="Kole Harper"]

 

[Rakaan Horne]

A low grumble escaped Kole's lips, and a scowl formed across his face- directed right at the Lizard who stood across the two. This wasn't what he had in mind, but then again, what should he of expected? There was only the scum that were looking out for themselves and a quick coin that visited places like this. Didn't help that with that realisation he took note he was one of them, or so he thought in this moment.

His head pivoted on his shoulders, turning to face Sortz with an angled neck. His expression was questioning, as if he was asking Sortz whether or not she was going to do it. They both knew what this meant, and that she had to go back into the ring to learn that little bit extra about herself. Or even nothing at all, as far as they knew this Reptile was lying, but you always had to the roll the dice now didn't you?

Didn't ease his fading conscience that Kole was going to get something out of this little arrangement, even more so that he wasn't likely to share it. You took what you had to. That's all there was.

[member="Sortz"]

 

[Sortz]

Sortz didn't answer for a minute. She glanced over at Kole, then away again. The silence stretched. The Trandoshan looked satisfied, the way a cat might as it set its paw on the tail of a mouse. This would be good for business, after all. Not often an opportunity to get a pair like this into the arena fell in ones-

"No."

The Trandoshan blinked.

"I mean, no thank you," Sortz corrected, taking a step back.

"I won't tell you without-"

"I know," the Tro'zet interrupted, in a rare show of rudeness. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for wasting your time."

She turned her back on him then, eyes meeting Kole's for a moment, and then heading back down the stairs.

In that moment, she had made a decision. Perhaps not about the kind of person she had been, even as recently as an hour before. But the kind of person she wanted to be. The feeling of that Bothan beneath her fists.... she had hurt him. And for what? To satisfy a curiosity? Oh, it was more than idle boredom yes, but ultimately it boiled down to something she realized she was not okay with. There were reasons someone needed to be hurt sometimes. Maybe. Certainly. But she would never do it strictly for her own gain in this way. Not like this.

[member="Kole Harper"]

 

[Rakaan Horne]

A question of morality, if anything. The very kind that Kole struggled to understand, struggled to solve. He fell more and more out of touch with his own humanity each day. An outsider that dared to be on the inside, a fish swimming in a pool of sharks- blending in as if he were one of them. Maybe he was a Shark, and he was too naive to notice. It certainly seemed as such, now didn't it? If Sortz learned anything of Kole it was that he traversed this land as if it were his own. That might imply something, right?

His blues remained on Sortz as she spoke, even somewhat surprised by her initial answer as an expression that represented as such was plastered across his face. Her further actions only solidified such confusion. Maybe that was his issue? He thought everyone was the same, just as him. All vying to control their lives through no matter what actions were to be taken. It wasn't the case, though. Some had their own standards, their morals. Kole's perception was simple skewed, and as a result he descended further down a darker path and without redemption, regardless of how hard he tried.

She slipped through his grasp. Kole stared down the stairs as she disappeared, an apologetic sincerity lingering within his eyes, and the curvature of his lip. That was the realisation. He was nothing more than a shark that circulated, searching for fresh meat- Sortz was exactly that. He was sorry.

Then she was gone.

[member="Sortz"]

 

[Sortz]

She hadn't been sure if he'd follow. She'd seen the confusion written clearly across his face. Human faces were often pretty expressive and while his had mostly been difficult to read, that moment hadn't been. He'd been okay with it.

Sortz had not.

She hadn't moved that quickly at first, but her pace picked up the farther she went.

It was silly, to think they'd talk more. He'd already done enough. What more was there to talk about anyway? She didn't know. As she reached the bottom of the steps, she looked back up over her shoulder. Their eyes met for another moment and she just gave him a small nod. Of understanding? Of thanks?

And then she'd ducked through the door.

Shoving her hands into her pockets, shoulders hunching, she hurried through the streets. The entire trip had been a mistake, she decided. Maybe, if this had to be the price of finding who and what she was..... maybe it wasn't worth it.

Still, she mulled, looking up at the glow of the star port and pausing for a moment in the street. She'd learned one thing.

She'd learned where her own line was.

And that was something, wasn't it?

[member="Kole Harper"]