Into The Viper's Nest

[Lief]

​

The Technicolor Beat, Spacebound​

​

Mara typically avoided such places.

As she wandered through the passageway she had been directed toward, upon docking Solitude and finally getting through security, she could not help but be reminded of a time before the chase. She had been much smaller then, able to fit within the maintenance halls carved out for droids much smaller than most sentient beings. How many times had Luh the Hutt forced her through those 'walkways', where the air was borderline toxic and so heavy it felt as though she was breathing in steaming hot soup?

A shudder ran down her spine, before her chest tightened and her expression turned to an almost sour glare... Feral, as was known to befall her people. Now was not the time to feel remorse over it all, almost a decade had passed since then and besides her Mother would hardly blame her for bettering her position. Right?

The sudden thud of music, which seemed to force her heart to beat to the same tune, drew her from her thoughts. Lights accompanied it, strobed, vibrant, fluorescent colours lighting up bodies of scantily clad women who still seemed to be overheated despite the fact. This room was just as humid and oppressive on the lungs as the maintenance halls had been back on The Wheel...

Where most seemed to feel the beat and sway with it, allow it to encompass their whole body - and spirit - the girl who entered the chaos seemed to unintentionally glower. Too many people, too much noise, not a place to think, much less sort out the arrangements for a job. It was almost enough to have her turn back around and head for her ship, even if it had cost her a fair bit to get there in the first place.

Instead she pressed on, one hand slowly forming into an indignant fist. Already she could feel her lungs fighting to keep up with her laboured, yet oddly silent, breaths.

For all she knew, their eyes and ears could be here even now.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Jarvus had been leaning against one of the innumerable bars that surrounded the nightclub’s floor. Most were themed in this way or that, but the one he sat on was rather plain. He chose it however, for its ability to view the other people due to its raised position. When in the market of human trafficking, a place like this was to die for.

A quick slip of the rotgut, and his eyes began to wander the crowd. Firey hair caught his eye as a girl looked uncomfortable, unknown, and overwhelmed. In his line of work, it was easy to spot, and there would be no doubt in his mind she was here alone; and if she wasn’t, there wasn’t anyone that would likely stop him if he just…

Taking a step from the chair, he set the glass down on the bar and began to maneuver his way through the crowd. Being nearly six and half feet tall, he towered over many, though not all; but he made up with it through his equally broad shoulders. The man was huge, and where muscles couldn’t be seen, a thick layer of fat had formed; making him more akin to a bear than a man.

Following her, it took a few moments before he lined up his shot. As she moved, so did he, wrapping a massive hand around her bicep and painfully pulling upwards to upset her balance. His voice came quick, just loud enough to overcome the deafening music;

“Don’t scream, or you die.”, he said as he began to walk her towards a booth on the edge of the massive reactor base turned nightclub.

As they walked, few gave them mind. Between the drugs, and the numerous scandals, a little bit of physical contact wasn’t anything to be upset by. Not to the majority at least, but as he threw the girl into a soundproof booth with its own climate and a privacy shield, some saw. Inside, a soft light lit the two as a softer version of the song outside played inside, but at a far more comfortable level. In Front of her sat a man who looked like he spent half a decent paycheck on his greasy suit, and hair slicked back enough to lubricate a pod racer’s couplings.

His voice was no different, the amount of disgust littering it giving an idea of where he might get his charm from;

“Evenin’, doll. You lost?”, he said as he moved a spice-laden cigar to his lips and leaned on the table towards her.

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

Her gaze flickered around the place, eagerly searching for the Vurk who had arranged this whole fiasco.

Truth be told she didn't entirely know what she was looking for. She'd never seen one of them in person before, so for all she knew he could have been a giant, or as small as a mouse. Just look for the crest, she told herself, that's an aspect of the species which set them apart... Right?

Mara reached into her pocket, drawing from it a somewhat roughed up datapad, and for a few moments she glanced over the image which shone up at her. Green skinned... Not exactly original, but that didn't really matter. As she passed a particularly well-lit area of the nightclub, where lights danced across the walls, her own skin seemed to shimmer for a moment, taking on an almost golden hue. Though it was matte, lacking any real gloss or metallic sheen. Probably just a trick of the eye.

As the redhead neared the center of the club, or what she deduced to be the center given the fact that the bar - or a bar? - stood there encircled by patrons, she felt a sudden grip upon her arm. It was tight, enough to leave an impression if not an eventual bruise, and with it came the pull toward another direction. Then the hiss of a voice fighting to be heard over the general din.

Simple instructions, really, not something you could easily mess up if you kept your head. Thankfully this wasn't her first rodeo, the instinct to scream didn't even kick in during the time it took them to reach the booth and by that point the moment had passed all together.

Landing with somewhat of a thud inside the booth she swiftly righted herself and brushed down the folds of her clothes, glowering in the direction of the stranger who had manhandled her this far. Now that she was able to get a good look at him she realized it wasn't the Vurk, and only then did what little colour her cheeks already held begin to vanish. It seemed to accentuate her copper locks, bringing to light a few rare freckles across her nose and cheeks.

Mara turned, allowing her legs to slip under the table and placing her in a more comfortable position.

"Lost?" she retorted, with a light shake of her head which set her curls into motion and a soft laugh that seemed a little too practiced, too... Effortless. "Whatever gave you such an idea?"

If her lungs had been struggling before, they were all but overworked at this point in time. Her heart fared no better, hammering painfully against her rib cage.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Smoke was vented out at a rate that seemed all too slow, as the small area they were in began to fill with a progressively asphyxiating haze. A bony finger ran itself across his mustache as he ashed the cigar; seemingly prolonging it for dramatic effect. Eventually, as the end of his cigar was cleansed by rubbing it against the ash tray, he glanced back up to her; a placid, cold expression offering nothing but a contempt for human life.

“You wouldn’t be in here if you weren’t lost, girly.”, he said through a thick, almost fake sounding accent.

For a moment, the space between them was quiet as he froze in his stare, only to interrupt it with a surge of what seemed like anger;

“Well, you gonna pay me for directions?”, he said as he slapped the table.

His jaw clenched beneath the skin, an obvious sign he wasn’t happy of her presence, though considering how she got there it was hard to say why. It was obvious enough at this point the man was a small time criminal, but his demeanor was leagues above where his pay grade likely was. If nothing else, he had the ego of a hutt in the small time frame of a malnutriated man; something that was progressively obvious as he moved around.


[member="Kalyn Shif"]

 

[Lief]

Why, that presumptuous little nerf herder...

Mara clenched her jaw in disgust and narrowed her eyes toward the man. Now that she was once again right way up and able to catch her bearings, now that the initial shock had worn off, all she felt was complete and utter indignation, and the temper within her was as fiery as the hair atop her head.

One hand reached to her belt, where her lucky blaster lay, and without much thought toward her own well being she drew it quicker than most might expect from a girl such as she. Especially in her current "dolled-up" state. This wasn't her first rodeo, though, she'd proven herself a faster draw than most who had stepped in her way.

"For the second time, I'm not lost. Just who do you think you are? Keep your greasy hands off me, and step the kriff out of this booth."

Her eyes sought out a chrono on the wall just beyond where her would-be assailant was sat, close enough that she could keep a watch on him, and she realized that she was about to be late for the meeting.

Such things never ended well. She had to make this quick.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

The man sat still for a moment before, narrowing his eyes. What he had above the table moved to pull the cigar from his mouth, shoving it lit end first into the ashtray, snuffing it out. The next he pointed at the table, letting his index finger bring attention in front of him.

“You think this is my first rodeo, sweetheart?”, he said in his sickeningly thick accent.

“I’ve had a gun on you this entire time.”

Beneath the table, if she bothered to look, it seemed to ring true. A small disruptor was beneath the table, likely a holdout from a pat down. It was trained on Kalyn’s gut, but the damage it offered would be enough regardless to end her life.

“I got two men outside, and- Wait, who are you?”

A stranger, with flowing silver hair slowly sat in the booth, offering Kalyn no glance. He wore stylish clothing, luxurious in branding while his face carried a chiseled beauty all its own. In the same way a statue was well shaped to a god, so too was the man before him; though in all aspects he was mortal rather than of marble.

“They’re gone.”, The stranger said, as a grin swept over his pale ash lips.

“What do you-”, the man began to speak before the strangers hand fell on his chest.

In the next moment, the man broke out into a horrifying scream before Kalyn could make out what was happening. His entire form was being slid into the metal beneath him, mixing with the metal and leaving nothing behind. Terror filled his voice as he disappeared without a trace, leaving nothing but the two there to ponder what just happened.

It was only then the alabaster stranger looked over to Kalyn, the same terrifying smile on his face as he sized her up. His eyes were clear now, their corrupted electrum color left nothing to the imagination as to what he was, and his voice carried with it the same predatory tone he had become known for.

“Hi.”, he said simply.

[member="Kalyn Shif"]

 

[Lief]

Kal had seen many strange things in this Galaxy, but none even came close to the scene which played out before her eyes in the moments after she pulled out her blaster.

Words were spoken but hardly processed by the time that the stranger emerged, and she found herself third party to an almost soundless altercation. A battle of wits which lasted mere seconds but felt like an eternity. What happened then made every muscle in her body paralyzed and all of the colour from her ruddy cheeks melt away much in the same way that the man himself melted into the upholstery.

Had someone slipped her a dose of glitterstim?

Was she finally losing her grasp of reality?

When pale sulfur eyes trained on her all of the air left in her body escaped in a noise that could only be explained as a breathy laugh. Not the kind which dragged out, but short. Singular. One filled with disbelief and a genuine fear for her life. Indignation, frustration, and a genuine sense of self-determination had helped her to draw the weapon, but it took just a moment for all of that to be brushed beneath the carpet. Her previously steady hand began to tremble, the first sign that her muscles were once again cooperating with her, and even as her aim subconsciously shifted across to his person all sensible desire to fire, or to run, had fled her mind.

Instead the weapon lowered of its own accord, carelessly falling from her grasp almost in accordance with the simple word from his mouth. The sound of it striking the table resonated alongside his voice, sending an uncomfortable shiver down her spine.

Kal stared, mouth agape, not quite able to comprehend the fact that she was being rude by not answering.

After all, he had technically just saved her life.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

“Oh, don’t worry about that-”, he said as the blaster flew through the air to his hand.

He glanced it over, seeing its many aspects before tossing it aside in the booth. It fell with a clatter, and then muffled cushion of the seat near them; forcing his gaze to return to her.

“I have that effect on people.”, he gleamed.

The man before her broke into a short laugh, picking the cigar the now gone man had been smoking only a moment before. Sucking it down, it slowly relit in a flash of flame, dissipating only as it was replaced by smoke. The Slave narrowed his eyes at it, only to shrug and continue smoking it.

As if by coincidence, a waitress came over and set a bottle and two glasses down on the table, offering no different a look than Kalyn as she hurried along her way. It was obvious the staff feared this man, taking care not to spend too much time around him as the mangled mop of silver strands fell in his face; the soft glow of gold peeking out from the platinum before them.

“Got a name?”, he asked as he poured a drink for himself.


[member="Kalyn Shif"]

 

[Lief]

"Kalyn," the girl said, without a moment's hesitation, and during the seconds which followed she found herself rather confused as to the reason for that. She never gave out her name - her true name - to anyone, much less a fear-inducing stranger such as this one. Names held power, and now she was at a frightful disadvantage in that he knew hers... and she did not know his. Thankfully such superstition was only held among a few cultures, and she could only hope that he did not belong among one of them.

Her eyes fell away from him for a moment, glancing over the cushion which now held one of the few weapons in this Galaxy she owned. Quite the predicament she had found herself within, from the fat man's frying pan and into the fire. One might suspect that a fiery redhead might not be afraid of such, and under normal circumstances she wasn't scared of confrontation or even being backed into a corner, but this felt different.

This was different.

"I don't... Wha..." Her gaze flickered between the blaster, and the upholstered vanishing man, and the sulfur eyed stranger, as her brain fought to keep up with all it had been presented with. None of it made sense.

Another laugh.

"Ha! For a moment there, I thought... The man... and the blaster... But no, he must have left when I wasn't lookin', and that..." Back to the blaster, "must've fallen farther than I thought..."

It was obvious by now that she was talking almost exclusively to herself. For all she knew the alabaster man wasn't even there at all, another figment of her imagination which was becoming more untrustworthy by the second.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

The Slave beamed, watching the girl slowly descend into the primal understandings of her monkey brain. To rationalize the unbelievable was to fall victim to misunderstanding, breeding ignorance, poor deduction, and most unfortunately;

Insanity.

He quietly sipped on the drink he now held, setting it down as that same malignant smile festered on his lips. There was danger in his eyes, a statue of an odyssey betrayed by war; the cruel manifestation of terror beholden to her very self. Every aspect of him, every movement he made, seemed to come with another danger, the ever calling instinct to retreat.

For he was darkness, a nightmare made reality, and he would be so cruel as to enact such an eldritch wraith on her at any moment should he so wish.

“Kalyn…”, he treaded with a sickness to his tone.

“I like that name. Its very…”

He paused, as a finger glided across his chin;

“Cute.”

[member="Kalyn Shif"]

 

[Lief]

Slowly but surely Kal began to snap out of it.

While she didn't try to reconcile what she'd seen any further, happy to pretend it had been a mental misunderstanding, she did seem to pull up a wall around herself. One she'd lost in the midst of all the chaos. Wary eyes trailed over the man, looking at him properly for the first time since he wandered into the booth. His features, attire, the way he held himself. A dangerous man, that much was obvious, one who was no doubt accustomed to getting what he wanted, whether that was answers, items, or otherwise.

He was enjoying himself, she could tell. Likely hadn't interjected himself into her situation for any other reason than to seek amusement. That thought alone made her realize that what she'd seen involving the upholstery was likely real. A shudder put an end to such uncomfortable thoughts.

"Who are you?" she demanded, tone less daydreamish now. Injected with the fire she'd started to show prior to his arrival. "And how did you do... That?"

Stop thinking about it.

Only, she couldn't.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

His grin only grew as she asked him such a question, knowing how much it bothered her just by the tone of her voice, the way her eyes shifted between him and the now empty seat near him. She couldn’t see every microexpression she offered, the way her lip quivered as she spoke, despite even the fire she carried with her. She stood tall, defiant to the fear mongering, but he knew she knew that it was all a ruse.

Still, he played along for the sake of joy;

“That? What do you mean, I didn't do anything?”, he said in a teasing voice.

His hands motioning to her, his eyes narrowed as he dragged her along; mocking the way she questioned him it seemed.

“Oh! You mean-”, he said quickly slapping the vinyl upholstery where the man had been only a moment before. The noise was enough to make Kalyn jump, if she wasn’t prepared.

The Slave leaned forward, lowering his tone as he looked her over;

“Why, you wanna learn?”

[member="Kalyn Shif"]

 

[Lief]

Jump?

When the man slapped against the upholstery it was all she could do to keep her skeleton and her skin one and the same. For some reason the sudden, jolting motion was far beyond unexpected. Jarring, even. Everything about him until that point had been slow, methodical, and unnatural, but that?

She could feel her spine tingle, the hairs on the back of her neck standing alert.

Once more the fire in her waned, reflecting on the outside as her presence seemed to shrink in on itself. Without consciously knowing it she even shifted back in her seat, staring at him once he was done playing dumb, glaring at him when he asked his question.

"Don't be stupid" she spat out, due to her spooked state, though it didn't sound anywhere near as forceful as she had intended. Her eyes shifted away from him, looking down the booth to try and find a quick route away from the booth and the man. Maybe if she was quick enough she could slip out and into the crowd before he could stop her.

Would he stop her?

"There's nothing to learn. You're both just trying to scare me, and... And it's not working."

It was all beginning to make sense to her now, this was way too well orchestrated to be anything other than a rouse. Feign an almost-attack, come to her rescue, swindle her out of a few coins. The seat must have been fake... Or altered. Or something. Either way, she was done with it.

Wholly of the belief that it was all a joke she began to shuffle across the seat, toward the exit furthest away from where he was.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

With ever scootch she made, the air around her ears began to cool; the soft utterance of whispers reaching her. The words they spoke were muddled, unhearable, though their sensation was a mixture of fear and unbridled sadness; so close it felt as though a dozen people were close enough to lick at her very skin.

And then it ceased, as soon as it began; replaced as she was slowly slid back into her spot, guided by The Slave as he manipulated the force around her to seat her back where she began. His face had not changed, its cruel expression no different than it was only a moment before; moving her like a puppeteer would a puppet.

“There is no ‘both’, Kalyn.”, he said in that same methodical slowness he approached her with.

“It's only me.”

[member="Kalyn Shif"]

 

[Lief]

For every move forward, it seemed, there were a thousand forces vying to push her back.

Though she knew her eyes were open, she felt as though she were blind. As though she had been forced back into a dreamstate where nightmarish voices ravaged her ears and twisted faces lingered just shy of her skin. She pressed on through it, pushing forward across the booth with the strength of a rancor; she could feel it now, taste it even, freedom from the oppressive darkness which had begun to suffocate her.

And then the light returned. She was close to the edge of the booth for all of one second before some unseen hand pushed her all the way back. The return took hardly any time at all, especially not when compared with her attempted escape, though now she was left in a worse position than prior.

Now she understood that slipping away wasn't going to be quite so easy.

"Who are you?" she asked, again, only this time her voice was soft, almost silent, and filled with dread. She shook her head, before revising her question.

"What are you?"

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Meek.

She might have fallen just slightly into the dread that stood before her, a dark sided monolith representing all that the common man could not understand; but The Slave enjoyed her in so many more ways than just what was craven. No, he loved the fire she held deep; and more than that, he loved burying it.

“Me, Kalyn, I’m me.”, he said in a jeer.

His hand moved to sip on the drink laid out before him, finishing it in a quick swallow before moving to pour yet another. The neck of the bottle met glass, clinking the two within their small controlled atmosphere, while the other hand pulled the cigar he had taken back to his lips for another puff. His gaze eventually found its way back to Kalyn, watching her shift uncomfortably as the moments passed slower and slower.

“You tell me, what am I?”

[member="Kalyn Shif"]

 

[Lief]

It was as though all the light had faded from the room.

Though beyond the soundproof booth life continued on in its own merry little way, though the music played and the lights flashed and people went about their business none the wiser, Kal could only feel a deep depression radiating between them. Horror lay heavy on her soul, and though she wanted nothing more than to flee, to fight and struggle, she found herself rooted in place upon the upholstery.

Her bright eyes seemed to dull as the magnitude of the situation weighed upon her, with the slightest spark of fury burning within her iris' longing to break free.

"A monster" she breathed, feeling her throat constrict, "A demon."

Certainly not human, that much was for certain.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Her voice was quiet, withheld as if she’d upset him.

It filled him with joy, as The Slave was no more a man of passion, than he was a man who thrived in terror; feeding off it like the empath vampire he was. His soul licked its metaphorical lips, him soon following in suite as he bit down slightly on the ashy skin of his lips. With it, he leaned towards her, covering a quarter of the table before he began to speak;

“A demon, Kalyn?”, he asked with dark connotations.

“You think me a demon?”, once more his voice hardly above a whisper.

“Do you think I eat children, and feed on the nightmares of women?”, a smile perking on his lips.

He burst out into a sudden, righteous belly laugh as he slid back into his seat, wiping a tear from his eye before he spoke once more;

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

[member="Kalyn Shif"]

 

[Lief]

"You are a demon" she responded, almost immediately, when he questioned her choice of words. There was more certainty behind her tone this time, her right hand clenching into a fist she wished had closed around her blaster or a blade. Neither were to hand, however, her knife was in her boot which made it impossible to reach without him figuring she was up to something, and the blaster still lay out of reach.

Her eyes flicked back to the end of the booth, just past him. Was it worth trying to make a break for it again? Would the wailing souls return to mock her once more, to pull her back?

Laughter broke her concentration.

The man sounded maniacal, insanity laced within both eyes and words, as he confirmed her harrowing suspicions. He was unnatural, appearing like the undead, a bone white corpse stripped of flesh. Though there was an undeniable beauty there, too, something she couldn't quite place.

Something she wished she hadn't noticed.

[member="The Slave"]

 

[Darth Empyrean]

She was looking for an escape, though escape would be hard to come by on his ship. The men outside had yet to come and save their boss, likely a hint at their fate; and as the party raged outside their confinement, so too did a turbulent fear rage within. The Slave sucked down more of the cigar, smoke trailing from his nose like a dragon stuck in mortal form; his rigid gaze falling to the drink once more as he took yet another sip.

Eventually, he spoke once more;

“So Kalyn, less about me. Why did you come here?”, he asked suddenly, suddenly taking an interest in the holopad that formed within the table, his finger idling across it to some unknown cameras throughout the ship; some even hidden within the various rooms people were allowed to stay in.

His gaze traveled up every few moments, watching her for any change in her behavior, before he finally spoke up again;

“Well?”

[member="Kalyn Shif"]