For Days of Auld Lang Syne (Sasha Santhe)

[Velok the Younger]

Even on the Tion Trade Nexus, [member="Sasha Santhe"] carried a unique reputation. For starters, she owned everything, including a non-negligible fraction of the Nexus itself. For another thing, most humanoids considered her attractive; there was no accounting for taste. And then there was her personality, which could charitably be described as determined and whimsical. Velok the Elder had preferred terms like toxic vindictive prima donna and monomaniacal wench. Velok the Younger was not in the habit of agreeing with his predecessor by default. Even so, all signs pointed to risk if he went through with this.

But since when had ever that stopped him?

The Santhe/Sienar enclave dominated a chunk of the spherical trade station. It boasted any number of highly secured entrances and exits. Among them, though, one stood out, the best and largest-capacity formal entrance -- the front door, if you will. State-of-the-art monitoring, Tionese Whiteguard sentries or something comparable, blast doors that could tank a Jedi Council and laugh.

A Whiphid's hand had two fingers and a thumb, with knuckles the size of a humanoid's wrists.

KNOCK KNOCK

 

[Sasha Santhe]

Sasha sat at her desk wearing a tiny little black dress. Her lengthy legs were festooned in the finest leggings and makeup had been applied both strategically and sparingly as she awaited her guest. The woman and company owner seldom had spartan offices and this one was no exception. There was lavish appointments throughout with the walls tastefully decorated with a modest collection of art and silken tapestries from some spidery race which Sasha only remembered looked rather awkward. Then again, the woman thought considering the species, they were very bad at cards. Something to do with compound eyes she imagined. In Sasha’s experience species with compound eyes were frequently horrid at games of chance.

Lounging on the sofa to the right of her desk she struck a pose and considered herself for a moment and repositioned as the knock came on her door. Knock, not a chime from the buzzard. How, antiquated. “You may enter,” she said the door swooshing to the side. The swoosh door, as Sasha called it, was the most common of wasteful and useless inventions in the galaxy. It’s reliance on a power source made it inconvenient in many places with primitive power grids that could be knocked out by simple natural disasters and yet everyone used the contraptions.

The Whiphid came into view and suddenly she realised that her appointments were out of order. “Uhg,” she said staring at the little Velok statuette on her desk. “I thought you were going to be someone useful.”

All thought of posing, and playfulness left her for a moment as she stood up and rubbed her hands down her dress smoothing wrinkles and covering up a few more centimeters of her leg. “I once knew another Whiphid, who looked much like you,” she stated as she stalked across the room to a bottle of blue liquor she’d been given as a present. It was almost too sweet, and yet highly intoxicating. “I don’t suppose you’d share a drink with me?”

[member="Tomsen Page"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

The office door swooshed aside, revealing a nicely appointed workspace and a human female on a sofa. Her pose, though clearly intended to be provocative, struck no fire in Velok's loins. She had insufficient tusk and no insulation whatsoever.

Still, he felt the regard of a dangerous mind. She stood, businesslike, and crossed the room for a bottle. Apart from baring one tusk at the 'someone more useful' comment, Velok didn't move.

"My father," he said. "And yes, I'll drink with you." He sniffed the air, then moved to sit on the sofa. It creaked under his weight. A stitch popped.

"It would be a mistake to discount me, Master Santhe. I've read my father's journals; I know many things that might be of use to you. Of course, you could pluck those from my mind as easily as you violated my father's. But who and what I am is more than my current strength in the Force, and more than the old secrets I've gleaned." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and interlaced his three-clawed hands. "I'm called Velok, and I hated my father. And he is dead and I am not."

 

[Sasha Santhe]

Sasha poured contents of the bottle into a second glass and turned to look the large hairy creature over. She’d seen the look before, on his father, and knew what it meant. Although the new Velok would likely be loathed to admit it, he shared many features with his deceased progenitor. “I know you don’t find me attractive, what with your species predilection for large teeth and blubbery females, but I’ll have you know that my looks come in handy.” She handed him the glass. “More than one Jedi Padawan has fallen for my charms, a little show of flesh, and the implied offer of quid pro quo has been the downfall of young men. Information can be gathered, and deals made that benefit myself in such a manner.”

Shrugging she moved to an adjacent couch across from Velok the new. She plucked the little statue of his father from her desk and held it in her hands. “I respected your father. You don’t have to like someone to respect them. He had knowledge and power and yet,” she stared into the statue and addressed it rather than the whiphid across from her. “Velok is dead. His body decayed and his spirit scattered into the abyss.”

Eyes narrowed as she stared at the hulk across from her. “You are not Velok, I will not allow another grumpy old man into my life. I shall call you Locke.” Nodding firmly she put the statue down gently not wanting to harm it. “This will protect me during our communications and also allow me to think of you as other than your miserable father.”

Taking a sip of her drink she added, “You know I offered him a smooth young humanoid body once. He rejected my offer. Can you believe that?”

[member="Tomsen Page"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Sasha Santhe"]


He accepted the glass and sipped the blue liquor as she spoke.

One massive eyebrow rose. "You've actually...flirted...Jedi into giving you information? Not that I have any reason to disbelieve you. On the contrary, I'm quite impressed. Not impressed enough to consider becoming a humanoid, of course. I agreed with my father about few things, but I can see his reasoning. He derived endless enjoyment from disguise, and there's nothing more ubiquitous than a humanoid, but he enjoyed his strength as I enjoy mine."

A tusky grin, though his yellow gaze remained on the little statuette. His power might have waned, but he recognized a thing of importance. That, and he recognized Whiphid tusk ivory when he saw it. "As for the name," he said belatedly, "I like pseudonyms as much as he ever did. Locke it is." Not that she'd asked his permission in any sense, but he saw no reason not to give the illusion of consent to rebranding.

"What does the figurine do?"

 

[Sasha Santhe]

[member="Tomsen Page"]

"Supposedly," Sasha began at the mention of the figure, "if you offer prayers to it, worship it as an altar, or some such nonsense, the spirit of your father will come and help them in mysterious ways." The inflection of her voice changed as she said the last part transforming into a sarcastic imitation of a spooky narrator from holodramas. Shrugging Sasha said, "enough people believe it and enough power emanates from it that I'm sure it's connected to your fathers spirit in some way. Personally I just hope he hears every insulting word I throw at it." She turned back to the idol and added, "Your dead old man, and now I sit with a son who hates you conspiring. Wherever you are know that you are something to be surpassed."

A smile appeared over Sasha's face as she turned back to Locke. "So let me ask you a question old man," sure the Whiphid wasn't old for his species, but he was old compared to her and that was frankly enough. "Why exactly am I gracing you with my presence? I find that when your kind walk through my door they often want something." The pitch of her voice raised imitating a child or a prepubescent boy, "Build me a ship Sasha, supply my fleet Sasha, develop some technology Sasha, can I have credits Sasha?" With a pause she said, "Or else it's Sasha go on a date with me, but we've already excluded that possibility haven't we?"

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Sasha Santhe"]

"We have," he said. "Master Santhe, I have no interest in handouts, no desire for an elaborate ship, no fleet to supply, no technology to develop, and no special monetary needs. Let me be blunt: I was a Master of the Force, a Shaman of Toola, before my father stole my power and memory for opposing him. The Sith ideals ripped my family apart. The Sith Empire conquered and occupied my homeworld. I feasted on their soldiers, but I'm still hungry. I mean to kill Sith, and whoever else stands in my way; I can be honest with myself about that.

"You're a Dark Master -- you learned from my father, and probably others -- but you've kept yourself apart from the despicable nonsense that bears the name of Sith. I'd imagine you have no interest in them, and not a little contempt. I'm also not blind to the economic power that various Sith interests control. Give me the means to learn the Dark Side again, and I'll use it against your...business competitors. I don't want handouts, Master Santhe. I make deals, and I like to think they're fair ones."

He drained the last of the blue liquor and set it aside. "Have I judged you accurately?"

 

[Sasha Santhe]

[member="Tomsen Page"]

Sasha smiled with a little snort. "Judge me accurately enough I suppose. There are a few more scrupulous sith that I have come to associate with. Other than them all dealings I do are a means to an end. I'll deal with sith and Jedi alike. As a matter of fact I prefer dealing with Jedi. Their moral codes may make them weak but allows for simpler deals." Pausing to take a ship of her drink she considered a moment. "Besides you can gleam a lot of information from what people order, how they order it. There is entire branch of forensic accounting from which to gain information from such things."

There was a strange sort of offer on the table. Locke wanted to learn of the darkside, and in return he would hurt her competitors. That was something, and yet was it motivation enough to empower yet another darksider? One more normally wouldn't hurt anything, however this was Velok's son. "Intriguing." Sipping her drink she considered for a moment. "What do you know of smokestone?"

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Sasha Santhe"]

So far as Jedi went, he tended to agree with both Sasha and his father. He didn't much like agreeing with Velok the Elder, but it happened on occasion...and would probably happen more often now that he was in cahoots with Sasha. He could tell why she'd interested his father, and those qualities were things he appreciated.

"Smokestone comes from the Nihil Retreat, the Perann Nebula -- the territory of the Sorcerers of Rhand, my father's mortal enemies. They corrupted my sister and caused her death. I have no love for the Rhandites and no compunction about eating their hearts, rotten or not. I haven't been to the Perann, but I know the way."

There was more to the story, but it didn't need to be told just now, if ever.

"Smokestone is a natural telepathic antenna. Some Zeltrons have begun using small smokestone amulets to improve their empathy. I stumbled on a chunk of it at Chalacta on the Mara Corridor. It made up the plinth to a bust of Alndys D'Lessio. I'd imagine you're aiming for something larger."

 

[Sasha Santhe]

"People always think larger is better," Sasha said. It was true enough. "How many Sith and Jedi can conjure great force storms and make kinetic barriers around themselves? Yes its rare to find a truely powerful force user with such innate potent strength but there are so many who can claim as much." Shrugging she then added, "No I believe that control is more important, and that going smaller is often better. Think about it, a telekinetic with potent abilities capable of minute telekinesis. A politician talking on a podium, troublesome, but with a subtle flick of the wrist such a person could pinch an artery, burst a capillary, and kill a man leaving no trace."

Snorting Sasha added, "Bigger isn't always better, trust me on that."

Walking over to the Whiphid she then said. "It's decided. You shall accompany me on an expedition. I need a substantial quantities of smokestone for a project. And on this trip I shall further your development." Raising a glass in toast she added, "To a fruitful partnership."

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Sasha Santhe"]

Velok the Elder had been one for impenetrable energy barriers. His Force Storms had left scars from Aeten to Gand. In his day, Velok the Younger had conjured blizzards and survived great falls, tamed monstrous creatures and survived immersion in ice water -- the master-feats of a Toola shaman, along with visions and the like. In spite of all that blatant power, or because of it, Sasha's point made sense. He grunted in acknowlegement and stood to the sound of the sofa's relief. He grunted again, with a nod, to reciprocate her toast. He'd drained his glass and set it down, and he didn't feel like bending low to pick it up off cub-sized human furniture. "I agree to your terms. I'll give this expedition my best efforts, practice with ambition, and offer what insight I can into the conditions we'll face. Within the mutual opportunity of our bargain, you have my full commitment.

"So tell me of this expedition, Master Santhe. What ship, what crew, and what guide? When do we leave, and do you have any enemies along the way -- any obstacles I should be aware of?"

 

[Sasha Santhe]

"No large fleet, the Randites don't have large fleets and force isn't the answer to dealing with them in my experience." Granted that had only been a few scattered sorcerers during an Invasion performed by the old Sith Empire. "A single prowler can make it through," the small corvette had stealth and was adept at getting into places where others didn't want it to be. "From there we can explore the area and find a mining site and then launch a lightning raid with a small team taking what we need." She sat down and then added, "Then from there the real work begins." Her lips pursed a little thinking about it. "That's as close to a plan as I think we can get. The truth is there isn't a lot of knowledge on the Randites out there. Secretive bunch. I know a little, you know a little, but it looks like we'll be improvising."

[member="Tomsen Page"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Sasha Santhe"]

"That matches my understanding. The last time the Rhandites put together a large fleet, the Lords of the Fringe broke them at the Battle of Rhigar. And my sources tell me that was a splinter group; the Sorcerers keep their heads down as a rule. A single stealth ship should work well, and the rest of it -- and you're right. That's as much of a plan as we can formulate without further information.

"One refinement I might suggest. The Sorcerers control their territory through precognition that functions almost like farsight. Darksight, they call it: they see what courses the future might take, and then try and choose between them. But it has a flaw: it has difficulty seeing the Light Side. Against a true Jedi, Darksight is relatively useless. I'm not pretending either one of us is anything like that, but there are ways to cancel out one's presence to farsight. If you happen to have a Jedi artifact handy, that might do it, or several Dagobah nudj lizards to consume excess Dark Side energy. I think there's even a Sith technique to make you appear as a Jedi. If that's something you know, it might do the trick."

 

[Sasha Santhe]

[member="Velok the Younger"]

Sasha smiled, "I can change the aura about me to appear as though I'm a lightsider. I prefer to hide my force sensitivity altogether whoever there has been times when it was advantageous to reveal my abilities and yet keep their nature hidden." Pausing for a moment she considered the Whiphids dilemma. "You however would need this ability as well, or else we'd need to stop by Dagobah in order to obtain these lizards. Biological matters have seldom held my interest, although I have dabbled in the past." Kamino, the reminder of her facility there sent a shiver down her spine. Mostly they regrew limbs for people in need of replacements but didn't want to relay upon mechanical replacements for whatever reason. For a Jedi, or Sith, the organic replacement could be much desired. Yet there was always other research going on. Creatures being created and duplicated and general medicine being researched. She didn't dabble in cloning, which wasn't to say that there wasn't merit in the technique but with the recent upheaval of incidents involving cloning it seemed imprudent to pursue at this time.

"Of course, that is part of why you are here isn't it? To learn."

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Sasha Santhe"]

Velok shrugged huge shoulders. "I won't lie: I could think of any number of uses for a technique like that, or for the nudj lizards. I confess that I'm interested in the alteration of beasts, but I suspect I could learn a Sith technique more quickly than we could visit Dagobah. Besides, I can obtain lizards on my own time, and the same goes for finding relevant knowledge from this source or that. I can tackle biological alchemy any time. Let's focus instead on these ways of hiding yourself. Getting to the Unknown Regions is a matter of days, but getting through them to Rhandite territory is a matter of weeks."

He glanced around the office where they still stood, mostly to make it obvious that they were still, you know, standing there. "Plenty of time to learn to conceal myself from their sight in one way or another, using either one of the techniques you mention -- or both, if things go well. Shall we move on, Master Santhe? Is there anything you need to take care of or prepare before we leave, and would you like me to prepare or obtain anything in the meantime?"

 

[Sasha Santhe]

"First thing first," Sasha said, "Don't call me Master Santhe. If you must be formal, Miss Santhe or Lady Santhe." Nodding she added, "But I prefer just Sasha from people I work closely with. I think after this meeting you'll qualify." It was only after clearing this up that she considered his question. "I suggest meditating, finding your center and visualizing your aura. That will help in training and can be done alone. I'll need only a day or two to gather up my people before we can set out. I have functionaries who can run the company well enough without me, although none are nearly as innovating." She waved her hand about. "I'll have a shuttle waiting in Bay twenty to take us to the Corvette. I'll meet you there in two days. Any weapons and equipment you think will be useful can be gathered. I'll have a detachment of troops on board with expeditionary equipment however you might avail yourself of other resources I'm sure you have." Sasha didn't pry but she suspected he had access to some of Velok's relics and devices.

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Sasha Santhe"]

"Sasha it is, then," said 'Locke.' "Whatever you prefer. I'll start meditating at once. Two days, Bay Twenty, bring what I think is best." He smiled tuskily. "I'll see you then, Sasha."

***​

​

Two days offered plenty of time for meditation and preparation. Almost too much, really. Fortunately, this was the Tion Trade Nexus, and one could find any number of diversions and options here, ways to spend one's extra hours. That was how 'Locke' found himself making a pit stop at the Beast Hunters Guild, during which he found himself in luck.

His supplies for the trip, aside from an assortment of seventy-two-ounce steaks, comprised a mated pair of Dagobah nudj lizards, another mated pair of Dagobah sleen lizards, four chew toys, two extra-large wire cages, an economy bag of lizard chow, and some of those water bottles that you could clip to a wire frame. The whole thing fit comfortably on a repulsor-driven cargo sled, industrial grade, which Velok towed by hand as he entered Bay Twenty. He'd also procured a blaster rifle, the kind that Whiphid hands could operate.

The sled glided to a stop alongside Sasha's vessel. Velok eyed the ramp and the guards, then began pushing.

 

[Sasha Santhe]

Sasha put her affairs in order and prepared for the trip. She met the large whiphid at the cargo bay and looked bemused at the large cave and various supplies he'd decided to bring. [member="Velok the Younger"] had a strange sort of way about him and after a few hour trip to the prowler Sasha had to admit that he was beginning to rub off on her. They boarded the corvette and saw that all of their belongings were stowed away before making their way to the bridge. "Coordinates are set," the captain said. She was older than Sasha, although still attractive with an athletic frame not unlike her own employer. Unlike Sasha however the woman didn't exude any sexuality. All business.

"Very well captain" Sasha replied with a nod. "Get us to the rim. If you need us, we'll be in the meditation chamber."

Prowlers were a very low frills ship, however Sasha had arranged for a variety of special modifications to this particular one. "Now my friend, we will learn to control that pesky dark-side aura of yours."

Taking a deep breath Sasha began to calm herself letting the force wash over her. She imagined the dark cloud around her and sucked it into her being. "Visualization is key," she said. "You must see the aura to dissipate it, and then replace it with a light." She was near invisible in the force now with her sensitivity hidden from everyone. Then suddenly a bit of light expanded around her allowing her to appear as a lightsider. "Visualization is a key. I don't expect you to get it right away, but in three days when we reach the rim you will have learned to snuff out your aura." There was no question as to success. It was either do, or die....

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Sasha Santhe"]

"As you wish, of course," Velok rumbled, and placed his shoulder against the repulsorsled. The whole thing shifted into place, into the cargo niche where his stuff would remain for the bulk of the expedition. The nudjes twitched irritably; they didn't like him, or Sasha for that matter. They did have a tendency to nom excess Dark Side energy, after all, much as the sleens had a taste for Light Side energy. On Dagobah they represented a natural balance. Here, ideally, they would wind up as something most unnatural. Either that or soup.

***​

​

The intervening three days comprised intense practice, so much so that he was unable to do more with the lizards than just measure out their kibble. A certain funk began to grow in a corner of the cargo hold. Velok's focus remained on the techniques that Lady Santhe was sharing with him. He was no stranger to hard work so far as the Force was concerned -- you couldn't become a Shaman of Toola by being as lazy as a Jedi -- but it had been over a century since his first lessons. In his day he could have mastered these techniques easily, saving his efforts for more worthy tasks, but that was not to be. He used his frustration as fuel, as motivation. By the end of day three he had a good solid handle on concealing his Force signature. He had not, however, learned the more complex process of making it seem Light.

 

[Sasha Santhe]

[member="Velok the Younger"]

The vessel approached the rim of the known galaxy and prepared for its descent into what they still called the Unknown Regions. The truth of the matter was a great deal of it was mapped and it was no more unknown than the tingle arm, yet the name persisted. In part no doubt because of the fact that it was difficult to navigate and many mysteries still abound.

Sasha was pleased with the progress Locke was making, sensing his frustration with a bit of perverse delight. She suppressed the urge to tease, and berate him. He was not Velok. She needed to remind herself of that every once in awhile. "You are making excellent progress," she said. "But now it is time to amp it up. We are preparing to begin moving through the unknown regions. Two weeks until we reach Rand Space. We cannot allow them to detect us." She paused and then said. "I am confident you will have learned the technique in a weeks time. Your father certainly could have learned it in five days." Who knew if that was true? Sasha didn't, but getting the Whiphid to seethe a bit would help him in the long run. The Darkside was afterall powered by negative emotions.

Leaving the room Sasha went to her cabin and got a little bit of work done sketching the designs she had in mind into a data pad. Even though the pad was encrypted she trusted nothing and like all good visionaries encoded her own sketches moving crucial pieces to other areas and dividing the images so that only stacked and rotated and layered in the proper order would they form the full design. Yes, this would be a fruitful venture....