Headgames

[Darth Abyss]

Nar Shaddaa, Bar above the Slums

The scene stayed the same, even if the location changed. Some rundown cantina, just high enough above the slums to look down on them. From the large window behind him Abyss could watch as the poor, little insects crawled through their dirty home, maggots worth nothing more then to serve as fodder for his organization.

One of the key advantages of the underworld compared to being allied to any empire was the endless network of contacts, and the resulting ability to watch your enemies from a far distance. Since his disappearance from the Sith Empire Abyss had kept a low profile. The Lords had witnessed his reactions the last time someone stole Malachor from him, and they also knew that the Prophet was not above using even the most deranged trickery and deception to accomplish his goals. To that end he had limited his contact inside the Empire to his former apprentice, and to not further strain their relationship he had avoided to use the young sorcerer as his spy. It was only a question of time until one of their hounds would come for him, once their paranoia would rise enough to mark him as a threat.

While he wasn't actively plotting to bring the Empire to its knees, even if the idea of the Dark Lord's body laying shattered before him was quite appealing, he still wasn't above passively undermining their authority at every possible oppertunity.

That was why he had spared no effort to arrange today's meeting. His contacts brought him word of a deflector that was active in the underworld, and he made it his top priority to add the man into his long list of allies and servants. It wasn't just the chance of gaining more insight into the current dealings of the Empire, but a chance of reaching another ideological victory over the far more powerful faction.

In the faint light of the cantina's backroom the husk rested, a hollow suit of rusted armor held together by little more then madness and obsession. Locked between his sharp teeth waited a pipe, arcane smoke occasionally emerging from it as well as from the empty eye sockets between his mask.

[member="Dreek Xretissirr"]

 

[Darth Chagrin]

Nar Shaddaa. Home to an uncanny mix of insignificant vagabonds and the most significant businesses in Hutt space, it might have just been the most peculiar place in the galaxy, yet also the one that best exposed the reality of life in the galaxy. It had once been Dreek's home, and to this day he had never seen a place where existence was stripped so bare, the truth of power left so naked, and the inconsequentiality of laws so universally accepted and understood. Given new life by the Sith, Dreek had naturally disconnected himself from sentiments of nostalgia for his former home, but he remained impressed by just how well the Smuggler's Moon reflected the truth of existence. All the more because Dreek had no intention of disclosing the truth for his being on Nar Shaddaa today.

His return to the moon had been on behalf of the Saaraishash, who had decided that it was necessary to keep tabs on a Sith Lord by the name of [member="Darth Abyss"], who had departed from the Empire and operated outside of their jurisdiction. That was unacceptable, especially given Abyss' historical treachery and unpredictability. There was no degree of safety unless the Empire knew what he was up to at all times.

To that end, Dreek had been dispatched to locate Abyss and infiltrate his inner circle. Naturally, this meant creating a credible alias — so Dreek had come to Nar Shaddaa and began propagating rumours that he had defected from the Empire. The Rodian predicted that this rather attractive piece of information would circulate throughout the underworld and eventually reach the ears of Abyss himself. Today, Dreek learned that his plot had been successful: Abyss had set up a private meeting in a cantina.

As he stepped into the cantina, Dreek was well aware of the possibility that Abyss had set up a trap, but even if that was the case there was nothing to be done except to play into it. On this occasion, Dreek equipped himself with the sort of garb one would expect of a bounty hunter. He featured more conventional weapons, such as his two blasters and several grenades, most prominently on his belt, but he hung his saberstaff there as well. Of course, he expected to use none of them. If this went to plan, there would be no need to invoke anything more than words.

When he finally entered the cantina's backroom, he found himself confronted by the sight of a rusted metal armour. A miasma seeped from sockets devoid of eyes, as well as a pipe that the... man, if it could be called that, appeared to be smoking. Dreek couldn't help but notice that the presumable Darth Abyss' hands and feet were more like claws, and the antennae on the Rodian's head rose slightly as he wondered what manner of creature this thing could be. As in the datafiles Dreek had studied before he had embarked on this mission, Abyss looked as if he had come from the literal underworld, not merely the criminal sphere. But he reminded himself that he had come into this encounter with the upper hand. Abyss was a known entity; as elusive as some aspects of his identity were, Dreek could at least say that already knew certain things about him. Conversely, Dreek was a complete unknown, a figure too recent and too insignificant to have any notable history. A blank slate, for the purposes of their conversation. In effect, he could decide what Abyss learned about him.

Still, he imagined that a Lord of the Sith, especially one as supposedly versed in the arcane as Abyss, had at least some capacity to read his thoughts. So Dreek had spent some time rehearsing the idea that he was truly a defect from the Empire, drilling the thought into his mind. Dreek stepped toward Abyss but said nothing, allowing the rogue Sith Lord to make the opening move. He found it difficult to look at something else, but he was acutely aware of the fact that if he stared into the abyss for long enough, the abyss would begin to stare back...

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Mr. Xretissirr I assume? Please have a seat."

It was no human voice that emerged from within the hollow creature. The words resounded like a broken echo, a whisper that slowly crawled from beyond the veil into the realm of the living, until the sounds layered upon each other into a distored chorus. While he spoke his metal jaw remaind motionless, the taunting grin fixed into the face of Darth Abyss, the Mindeater, Prophet of Katarr and Malachor.

The husk raised his left, and on his mark a chair was pulled up to the table near Abyss' own seat. While he waited for the alien to sit down, his mind had already extended, trying to find any sign of treason or deceit surrounding the Deserter. He found none, instead what he witnessed was an effective mental shield. Not one born from the strength in the force, but from mindless repetition and sheer willpower. While the alien wouldn't feel the full oppressive power of the Mindeater's mind, he would still notice the invisible tendrils slowly touching the outer layers of his thoughts.

It allowed for little insight into the man's motives, besides the obvious fact that he had something to hide. That in itself wasn't something special, it was probably harder to find someone in the underworld that had no secrets to secure from others.

"Care for a drink?"

Again the hollow armor raised his left, but this time not to call upon the force. Instead a servant appeared from the corner of the room, awaiting to take the order of the alien. Abyss disagreed with many ideas of the Empire, and one of them was their senseless abuse of force and violence to reach their goals. He rather followed a philosophy rather common in the underworld, often called silver or lead.

"My sources told me that you too broke the chains the Empire means to force upon us all. If you are willing to share I would be interested to hear your story."

There was an offer waiting for the alien, but before he would hear it Abyss had to assure himself who he had in front of him. Even if the man was in fact an enemy in disguise, it didn't mattered much. It wouldn't be the first time that the offer of freedom and luxury, among countless other perks of following him instead of the Empire, would be seductive enough to make someone forget their original mission.

[member="Dreek Xretissirr"]

 

[Darth Chagrin]

Dreek took [member="Darth Abyss"]' offer to sit. The invitation had been spoken with an otherworldly voice, a confirmation that this thing before him had long forfeited its natural origins to gain something else from the dark side. Already, Dreek could feel the other Sith invoking the power of the dark side to probe his mind. At present, it was likely that Abyss could sense nothing more than his surface thoughts, so with as much calm as he could, Dreek maintained the line of thought that he had rehearsed for this encounter: that in his hunger for knowledge and greater freedom, he had committed forbidden acts and been ousted from the Empire. For now, he refused to consider what would happen if Abyss could see through beyond those surface thoughts.

By now the discomfort of looking into Abyss' face threatened to manifest with physical symptoms that would give Dreek's true intent away. The Rodian slowly peeled his eyes away from the mask and began to trace the outline of the Sith Lord's armour, studying it with bulbous black eyes and a feigned curiosity.

"Care for a drink?" Dreek instinctively steeled himself in the Force as Abyss raised his hand, but the Sith Lord had merely summoned a servant to signify his receptive intentions. Of course, there was no telling if that same gesture had masked an esoteric use of the Force. Dreek figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Of course, anything you serve," he replied. It wouldn't hurt to know Abyss' tastes in life, if the entity before him still had any.

"My sources told me that you too broke the chains the Empire means to force upon us all. If you are willing to share I would be interested to hear your story."

"My lord, I have merely discovered that the Empire is a highly restrictive body for those who seek true power or freedom. True Sith do not stand still for inhibitions placed on them; our code says as much. I have simply come to realise that the Empire is a body of slaves helmed by those few at the top. However masterfully they have played their game, now that I have seen the truth of the Empire I no longer wish to be any part of it."

Dreek offered his reply in a calm and stable manner. He ensured there were no perceptible differences to his tone or body language. The last thing he wanted Abyss to do was get his guard up.

 

[Darth Abyss]

While the alien talked, the servant returned with a collection of fine drinks on a single glass which he placed on the table. The Prophet had no tastes left to speak of, besides a deranged, eldritch hunger for the minds of the living. Yet he avoided to indulge in it during business hours if possible. Invoking a certain level of fear was helpful, but sending possible new recruits into a panicked frenzy after devouring the mind of some lost, poor soul for no reason other then to quench his desires rarely had worked out in his favor.

"Then our views of the Empire seem to align. How pleasant."

The ethereal voice of the husk could not hide the grain of salt in it. Like the man's mental shield the answer sounded to perfect, to deliberately designed. Yet again it wasn't a clear sign of deceit, but rather a clue that [member="Dreek Xretissirr"] had done his homework and quite possibly meant to gain his favor through his words.

"I assume that a man of your talents could be interested in some very well paid work?"

Abyss had already planned something to put the alien's loyalties to the test. There was a simple way to find out if Dreek was who he said he was, while also giving him some insight if he was cut out for the line of work for which Abyss needed him. In a small celler below the bar he held two hostages, both soldiers of the Empire captured during Abyss' last visit on Malachor.

"If I told you that you could name any price here and now, and all you had to do for it in return would be to take a life, what would you say?"

When Abyss said any price, he meant any, at least within reason. Wealth and influence were only a fraction of what he could offer, power and knowledge made up most the rest.

 

[Darth Chagrin]

Dreek experienced a slight chill as he heard [member="Darth Abyss"]' response. The Sith Lord had a mocking, cynical tone, an undercurrent of distrust. No doubt he was at least open to the prospect that this was all a ploy. Even if he already knew, however, he was entertaining Dreek's story regardless. He obviously had some sort of agenda here; Dreek was about to find out what.

"I assume that a man of your talents could be interested in some very well paid work?"

The Rodian waited for further elaboration. The other Sith clearly already had something in mind.

"If I told you that you could name any price here and now, and all you had to do for it in return would be to take a life, what would you say?"

Considering his response, Dreek replied, "Naturally, my lord, that depends on whose life it is. I would not take any price if I thought I was being sent to my death, though I am most curious to know what you can offer me. Have you already got a target in mind?" It was necessary to accumulate trust with the Sith Lord, but not at the cost of Dreek overplaying his hand. If their conversation involved several impasses, then so be it. Dreek wasn't ready to be the first one to compromise in this encounter.

He remained aware of the fact that credits were hardly the only form of payment in the underworld, and he certainly expected that a figure such as Darth Abyss would have more on offer. In fact, Dreek was quite sure that the eldritch Sith Lord was thinking of something else.

 

[Darth Abyss]

"During my last visit to Malachor I accidentally came into the ownership of two of the Empire's Soldiers, which now reside below this bar. I think interrogating and killing them will be a fine test of your skills."

With yet another lift of his left the Sith Lord let out another silent command to someone not yet in sight. Only when the door opened and two heavily armed, and augmented soldiers stepped inside with their weapons raised after almost two minutes of threatening silence it became apparent what Abyss judgment was should his answer be no. He believed in the freedom of choice, but if the man was who he said then there was no logical reason to pass up on an easy, quickly and well paid job. Only a liar had a reason to do so.

"Follow me."

Again it wasn't a question, but a command. He was certain that [member="Dreek Xretissirr"] by now had become aware how carefully he had to watch himself is he wanted the Prophet to believe even a single word coming out of his mouth. Framed by the two warriors the husk rose from his chair, his robe drifting ghostly in the air despite the clear lack of air around them.

Their path would lead down a set of stairs, and the walls around them grew even more derelict and dirty then the bar above. At the end they would come to a stop in front of a door, which was opened once one of the Soldiers removed his helmet and held an eye in front of a small sensor.

When it opened, they would all be meet by a foul odor. The room was filled by stacks of corpses, all carelessly discarded there with no interest in their decay. In between all the blood, flesh and rot where a woman and a man in imperial uniforms, both still breathing even if barely. Their hands were wrapped in chains hanging from the ceiling, forcing them to stand in a quite uncomfortable position. The left of the husk stretched out, and invisible, yet unsettling, darkness flowed through the cursed metal and into their flesh.

"Time to wake up."

 

[Darth Chagrin]

"Yes... it will be."

It was quickly becoming apparent that this bar had been specifically chosen by the other Sith. Not only did [member="Darth Abyss"] possess an intimate familiarity with this place, but he had also revealed that he possessed power and property in this place. Most likely he had prepared for dishonest visitors such as Dreek well beforehand, and to that end, he made a point of making threatening postures and uncomfortable silences. There wasn't even the illusion of choice here, but Dreek had already agreed to it. He only needed to not appear suspiciously overzealous in upcoming operation.

The rickety path led into an offensive-smelling chamber piled with mutilated bodies and rot. Clearly, this was a Sith's playroom, and Abyss was seemingly keen to impart his two remaining toys to Dreek as a test to see whatever ties he maintained with the Empire. A man and woman, Imperial uniforms hanging limply from their forms in the same way their bodies hung from their chains, jolted awake, probably another of Abyss' mental commands.

Dreek eyed them with curiosity, but not sympathy. Lowly figures of the Empire would've been expected to give their lives for it, and any chance at getting into Abyss' inner circle was more than worth the lives of two nondescript soldiers. Dreek fancied the thought of adding some pain as well; surely that'd make the entire operation seem more authentic to the eldritch fellow beside him.

Cocking his head towards Abyss, the Rodian intoned, "I will start when you give me the order."

 

[Darth Abyss]

"I want to know what they were doing on my world. Then erase them."

Obviously Abyss had no need to torture any of the little maggots he had abducted from Malachor to learn what he desired. Their minds were open books to him, and their every thought and memory had already become part of his endlessly vast collection of knowledge the moment he picked them up. The test was about [member="Dreek Xretissirr"] and not about them, a way to see his dedication and his skills in one go. Should the other sith turn out to be who he said, the Abyss already had a clear position for him in mind, one where the ability to force out information out of others was a prerequisite.

"We won't tell you anything, traitor. The Dark Lord will destroy you like every other of the empire's enemies."

The woman raised her head slightly, her eyes filled with the fire of defiance as she looked at the two sith. Abyss had seen it time and time again, the blind dedication to Dark Lord that offered the lowly soldiers a strength of mind uncommon for worthless little insects like them.

The intel Dreek could get out of them wasn't anything impressive. They knew that the empire had cleared out the cities, and that Malachor was now little more then a outpost with no considerable operations whatsoever. It was painful to know that they had replaced his work with basically nothing, but it wasn't like he had expected anything else from the blind, narrow minded fools that lead the sith these days.