Private Just a spot of shopping

[Darth Nwul]

• In Transit between Devaron and Nubia
• Corellian Cruise Vessel - Happenstance

There were a lot of odd things that rich people did with their money. Go on strange trips, explore unusual fetishes, dabble in exotic cuisines, all sorts of things. But of all the unusual, and dangerous, things a wealthy magnate could do was host a party like this. Whomever this rich bastard was, they had a fascination with what they saw as an extinct way of thinking. The ancient sith had artifacts and historical trinkets that fascinated and disturbed the senses. Instead of hosting it on a particular world, this chucklehead decided it would be wise to build an entire showroom on a cruise ship, so that all those present could appreciate what he owned to feed his own middling ego.

Of course, news had gotten out, and Jedi had been dispatched to watch over it all. They would have liked to confiscate the dangerous materials but the man was a private citizen and protected by a few senators. That wouldn't be easy. Wake, on the other hand, couldn't care less. He stood amidst the small throng of people in the ballroom-turned-gallery and peered down at a set of daggers crossed over a sword. His lip twitched, from what he'd learned the daggers were used by low-rung hunters and the sword belonged to a minor noble. The level of offensiveness and historical innacuracy here was galling.

He sipped at the wine he had been given by one of the waiters and winked at a woman passing by, her return expression told him that even if he didn't find anything of use on this shopping excursion he would enjoy the evening that followed. So long as he wasn't interrupted by the Jedi observers. So far, none of them had approached him, and since they were still in hyperspace they would likely have not contacted home on coruscant to confirm whether or not he was the same Wake Nayne that had murdered Master Ibini Abaas. He rustled his messy black hair and walked away from the knives to a set of books set onto small podiums. Paper texts that most people ignored.

Most of them were philosophical diatribes by madmen, but one of them caught his eye. He pressed his lips together and turned away from it, feigning disinterest and walked over to the proported crown jewel of the exhibition, and the main reason the Jedi were crashing the party.

A holocron.

Wake stood in front of the cracked pyramid hidden behind tempered glass, was there anything left in the damaged artifact? Did it matter? He sipped his wine again, oh well, might as well enjoy the party until he finished shopping.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Cruise

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Darth Nwul

Perhaps she could have picked her favorite dress and tried her best to be incognito, but between the fiery eyes, scar over her face and other recognizable features, Valery couldn't easily go unnoticed without using her Shadow abilities. So, instead, she stood somewhere at the outer edge of the ballroom, dressed in her usual jumpsuit, and with both of her lightsabers clipped to her belt. The owner of this exposition had refused to give up his dangerous belongings, but the Jedi weren't going to just let it rest so easily.

Until they were secured somewhere, she'd watch over them, knowing that criminals or even Sith would love to get their hands on what he owned. Either for personal use, or to sell it somewhere on the black market, not knowing how severe the consequences could be.

Sith artifacts had a tendency to affect the minds of others, after all.

"Don't even try it," Valery said, as the approach of a man around her own age snapped her from her thoughts. A lot of people tonight were trying to make moves or find dancing partners, but Valery wasn't interested in any of it, and simply kept her eyes on the artifacts at display.

 

[Darth Nwul]

Wake walked past another podium, glancing past a few knicknacks that were obviously just old pots and basically junk. There was a neat looking thin silver ring sitting among the jewelry that had been piled up in the display. Wake's eyes flicked from it to the old holocron again, was it really worth considering. He sighed and shrugged, starting to whistle (Merry-Go-Round of Life by Joe Hisaishi) as he passed a few rather dolled up looking trandsdoshans. Since when did they bother with getting fancy? He dismissed the arrogant thought. Everyone wanted to get fancy now and then, right? He whistled as he passed a Faleen who eyed him conspicuously, and returned the glance with a wink.

He happened upon a waiter and snatched up a glass, sipping at it before easing himself over to one of the corners where the more intense looking artifacts were. His head tilted as he spotted one of the swords, it looked like his. Neat. Maybe he should go for two? He was about to make a mental note of where it was currently when he sensed a presence to his right. One that, based on feeling alone, would have been able to sense him immediately as well. Caedes had explained his wound in the force back on Korriban. The icy feeling in his abdomen was the dark-side seeping into his guts. He'd torn his own spirit in murdering Master Ibini Abaas. So now it was hard for him to go unnoticed anywhere there were force sensitives.

Not that stealth was his modus operandi anyway. But that presence, that powerful, heavy, oppressive... his green eyes slowly turned to the distracted woman at his right. Her grim posture shifting only once to tell him to buzz off. He let out a breath, she thought he was here to flirt! He laughed and waved a hand at her, "Please, if I were interested, you'd know," Wake said with a chuckle and quickly turned away, not wanting to carry a conversation on with the Sword of the stars-be-damned Jedi! What the devil was she doing here?! Didn't she have better things to do than this? What was this? A punishment game for her royal-fucking-terrifyingness.

The self-exiled coruscanti jedi turned sith as casually as possible made his way towards another display. Just ignore her and she won't pay you any mind. Yeah right, Wake, you're so screwed. He hesitated, no, that wasn't entirely true. There were a lot of bystanders, and if she went hunting in neutral territory like this, looking for a fight. Well that wouldn't be very jedi like, now would it? Maybe he stood a chance as long as he kept things friendly? His lip twitched. He'd have to see if she bothered with him.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Cruise

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Darth Nwul

It was only after the man responded, that she realized he was both much younger, and that his presence in the Force was anything but normal. It wasn't the first time she had been in the presence of a wound in the Force, but he seemed so young, and she did not recognize him at all. This immediately sparked great interest, both on a more personal level, and for the sake of her mission here.

Was it really just a coincidence that someone like him showed up in a place like this? A place full of artifacts containing old knowledge and power.

"Hey, wait a moment-" Valery began, but she could tell that he was actually trying to get away. He wasn't running or making a scene, but he was on a path away from her awfully quickly.

"You there, please stop." She called out a little louder, while she still tried not to draw too much attention to herself. But she was ready to change that if it proved to be necessary.

 

[Darth Nwul]

Wake had just passed by the pile of books and in using the shifting crowds as cover, had snatched up the palm-sized prayerbook from the pile. No sooner had he poffered his first prize and to his surprise without a single voice of protest or sound of alarm, that he heard the woman call out to him. He knew it was to him, but he didn't want to think about it, just play cool. Pretend he didn't hear her, maybe act like a deaf person. Then she called out again and his expression twisted, a waiter tapped his shoulder and leaned in.

"Good sir, I do believe that woman is asking for your attention. Best not to ignore a beauty like that," The waiter insisted.

Wake groaned and slumped his shoulders, she recognized him, or something. Either way he wasn't stupid enough to ignore a famous person like her and now the damn waiter had made sure of it. Darth Caedus would have snuffed the man's life out just for the slight. Wake considered it for half a second before letting it go, it caused him more trouble than it did good and he wasn't strong enough to get out of here after causing a scene like that. Oh well, might as well enjoy it. He let go of the tension bubbling in his chest and turned, putting his hands on his hips and brandishing his best smile.

"Master Noble! What a pleasant surprise! What brings you to such an inauspicious place?" He said playfully, tapping his foot on the floor and adjusting his coat and shirt, making a show of looking more presentable while he was subtly shifting the prayerbook in his pocket so that it was harder to detect if they pat him down.

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Cruise

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Darth Nwul

While Valery didn't hear the waiter's comment about her, she did notice that it was enough to get the man she was interested in to stop and turn to her. Whether that really was what he wanted or not remained to be seen, but at least he wasn't trying to actively get away. "Just keeping my eye out for trouble," she said rather honestly, while she spent a moment looking him over. He seemed to know her, and while she didn't recognize him, something about Wake still felt familiar to her.

As if she had seen his face before, but simply never met him in person.

"Master Valery Noble, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr...?" She asked, choosing for this introduction purely to get his name if he was willing to share it. Lying to an experienced Jedi Master was hopefully something he wouldn't dare trying, but she was paying attention, both with her fiery eyes and her senses.

"I couldn't help but notice something about you that I'd like to know more about. I'm sure you know what I'm referring to."

 

[Darth Nwul]

Of course it was going to go this direction, he strode forward with his hands at his side and glanced her up and down. The tremor of the dark side through his force wound increased as their proximity closed. He could practically taste her knowledge and wisdom, all those skills crammed in her skull. He'd just have to reach out and- no, he took a breath and exhaled, calming the urges that were roiling inside of him. This was neither the time nor the place to do something like that and she had no juristiction here either. If she started a scene or tried to lay hands on him, it was possible the vessel's security would get involved. After all, he was a paying guest as well.

Still, he resented that lying to her was pointless. He kept his expression calm, though he knew she could sense the momentary turmoil. "Nayne, Master Jedi. Mister Nayne," He said honestly, locking eyes with her. He could practically visualize the image in the Jedi database, his face, his name, "magistricide" in big bold letters beneath it. He exhaled and glanced towards the other guests. "Now, let's not do something unpleasant in front of all these people. I don't like interrupting parties, people deserve their fun, it's a crazy time we live in after all, right?" He said with a genuine smile. Keeping himself to just over a lightsaber blade length's distance from her.

He knew she could close that gap in a microsecond, but she couldn't make it look like an accident if she had to approach him. He let out a sigh and shrugged when she pressed him for more information; "That's a bit personal, could at least buy me a drink first before we talk about trauma, right?"

Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Cruise

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Darth Nwul

"I wouldn't be so worried, Mr. Nayne," Valery said with an almost overly polite smile. "You think I would have walked up to you for a chat if I was planning on something... less pleasant?" She chuckled at the absurdity of it, and briefly turned her gaze to the people around her. She had no desire to be too friendly with someone who felt this dark, but she knew that drawing a weapon could easily put innocent people in dangerous positions.

She wasn't going to risk their lives for him, and as long as she stayed close enough to this wound in the Force, he'd not be getting his hands on any of these artifacts either.

"A drink?" She perked a brow and chuckled again, "Trying to be clever isn't going to help you. I know why someone like you would be here, and I can assure you, there's nothing here to gain." She eyes the artifacts around her, before staring back into his eyes with her fiery gaze.

How could someone so young feel this dark? Was there still some light behind those eyes? Valery thought about these questions, as she looked him in the eyes.

"You know it's not too late, right? I know what you've done, but you don't have to make things worse."

 

[Darth Nwul]

Wake returned her polite smile with one of his own, allowing his aura to become a bit more relaxed. Not because he was letting his guard down but rather to simply add to the diffusing nature of their interaction. No, she didn't want violence here either, nor did he. There wasn't anyone here who he particularly liked, but there wasn't any reason to kill them either, innocent was innocent and waste was waste. Nature was brutal, and some times critters got swept up in storms, but he had the ability to be greater than nature and choose when and where the storm started.

Ultimately, he had no interest in killing if he didn't have to. That said, her eyes, that gaze, and the way she searched him with the force. He didn't like it. It was prying in a way that he couldn't properly shield himself against. He hadn't felt this exposed since the last time Master Abaas... he clenched his jaw a little. She could see the force wound, feel the pure dark side energy trickling through it. Untainted by rage or hate, raw, unflavored emotion ready to be honed and controlled as he saw fit. He let out a breath that turned into a laugh when she pointed out that there was nothing here to gain.

"On the contrary, I was raised by an Academic if you recall," Wake said with a twinkle in his eye, "Curiosity is passion enough, to study something even through a thin sheet of glass," He purred, his lip curling a little playfully. He looked her square in the eyes as he felt her probe again. Fine, you wanna look? Then look. His mouth opened a bit haphazardly, his eyes growing darker, the bright emerald green fading a bit. That Sith on korriban had seen it too, something writhing beneath the surface. Something cold and hungry. That maelstrom of madness so pure it had become sane and gained a will of its own.

Then she said something that made him recoil in disgust, "Not too late!" He balked at her and shook his head, Self loathing coiled up inside of him only to be crushed, converted, and turned into fuel. Digesting every emotion, love, happiness, hate, all of it. The space shook between the two of them for a moment. He loved himself, but he hated himself, he adored Master Abaas, but his emotions had been the end of her mortal life and the beginning of her eternity within him. What he'd done was unforgivable, she'd be inside of him, carried by him, forever. He'd never be able to put it behind him. So he'd embraced it.

No. Wait. Calm down. He looked her up and down in disgust, insulted by her words, but he sighed and scratched the side of his head. "Nope, not falling for it, no way," Wake said with a shake of his head. "I came here to study and do a bit of shopping, that's all. I don't want any trouble. There's history here that deserves to be documented, if I leave with some of it that's my prerogative," he said, keeping his words honest and took another deep breath. He needed to approach this differently. They were getting nowhere playing cat and mouse, and honestly playing the scheming villain wasn't his style-not openly anyway.

He exhaled one more time, letting his dark crucible consume the excess emotions until he was stable again. "Do you even know what this is?" Wake asked, gesturing to one of the books on a table next to him. "Most of them are journals, some of them might actually have some minor relevant tidbit. The one on the left covered by the others is a text by a Minor Sith Lord on restorative alchemy," Wake said, "They had to make medicine too. He was a doctor," He explained and then gestured to everything else, "How about we set our problems aside and I just show you around. I really hate conflict..."

Valery Noble