Private Looped

[Mercy]

ASHLINE TERMINAL
Skeevi Merrill

Mercy was back in town for a little stint between some downtime on Terminus and raising hell on Hapes. She found Ashline to be a nice place to put down the anchor so to speak.

And she had taken towards just walking down the streets and exploring what the spaceport had to offer.

A lot apparently.

No wonder the old Vigo had held on for so long. There was a lot of wealth here. Even if it was rusted and oxidated. She passed by another store but then paused.

Walked right back again and peered up at the sign. Neon, flickering, it reminded her of a different time on Denon.

She remembered it because it had changed the trajectory of her path.

"Skeevi?" Sounding out the name with a thoughtful hum. Then she decided to knock on the door.

Would the girl even remember her? Perhaps not, but it would be interesting to see regardless.

 

[Skeevi Merrill]

As per the Akala-Merrill Grand Unifying Theory (a great-uncle, almost no relation), time ran differently depending where you were and how much you got around. That went double for Seven Corners back where Skeevi had spent most of their life. Skeevi was unsure of their age or how long it had been since they'd seen Mercy . Lots of clients back then and since, but Mercy was a hard one to forget.

Just now Skeevi was mopping the ripperdoc clinic floor with something harsh and cheap, wearing a surgical apron of limited cleanliness. They paused mid-bloodstain.

"M'um m'aloo. Did some work on you back when," they said. "Don't remember what. Nyeta cona. No warranties."

 

[Mercy]

Skeevi Merrill

A slow stretch and slowly Mercy came lumbering in. No matter the size of the room, she filled it and then some, leaning against the wall and watching her work.

"Why would I ever ask a refund?" She raised up the karked up eldritch arm. "This has given me a lot and then some."

If didn't look like Skeevi's work anymore. Back then it has just been an arm with elaborate tattoos on the skin, moving, but still just an arm.

This thing was like liquid gold, in constant state of flux, the tattooes she had made pressed in like sigils.

"I just figured I'd come and say hi. Didn't know you were setting up shop in my neck of the woods."

She glanced at the bloodstain.

"Busy night?"

 

[Skeevi Merrill]

Skeevi took a long look at that arm. It scared them. Nanotech maybe. Rough stuff, nanotech. Still banned in lots of places. Focusing on the arm was better than focusing on the visitor, who was probably banned in lots of places too. She had that atmosphere.

"Been here just a couple nights. My crew and I—" Old medical droids out of sight. "—we got off Coruscant, wanted an upgrade. Heh."

Skeevi gestured around with the end of the mop.

"It's a lot like Denon back home. How long you been here? Good advice?"

 

[Mercy]

Skeevi Merrill

She was surprised to see Skeevi not be interested in getting closer to the arm. It had been her masterwork after all, or at the very least the building foundations that warped the arm into something else.

But in this case Mercy wouldn't press.

"Oh, yeah, I was on Coruscant myself when it fell... interesting times." Busy in the Jedi Temple, making a huge mess, but Mercy didn't specify. The little creature in front of her was acting rather skittery. No point in making her even more nervous than she already was. "I quite like it here, I guess that's why I keep coming back."

A slow smile there.

"The old Vigo doesn't quite like that I return so often, but since I broke the siege on this port that was threatening his rule, I figure he can deal with a little inconvenience."

She glanced around again.

"You never did tell me how you did what you did... you know, you carved a road for me with that tattoo. I am mighty grateful." It was a bit unclear if having Mercy's gratitude was a good thing however.

 

[Skeevi Merrill]

That arm was looking unpleasantly familiar. Skeevi was sure they'd never seen it before, but it could have...grown from something. They thought of weird Dagoyan/Frangawl tattoos a long time ago, and playing games with strange powers to pay for dinner. Rough days. Fun days, some of them, but rough.

The line about breaking the siege, the walking tall about the Vigo - oh, and yes, the reminder about the tattoo, yeah, it was coming back now. As clients went, Mercy had been a pretty good one, if memory served.

The best way to play it was the friendly one. "Always glad to satisfy a customer, yeh." Skeevi bapped a cabinet with their mop and it opened to reveal a selection of pre-owned cybernetics, mostly old iBorg models. "We got the goods if you want upgrades. Got a foot you don't want anymore?"

 

[Mercy]

Skeevi Merrill

Her eyes lofted down to watch the selection of cybernetics.

She pressed closer but then shook her head.

"Mm, I think not. Ever since I tore a fighter's prosthetic arm off and beat her into submission with it, I have not looked at cybernetics in the same way." At the same time Mercy couldn't deny that they could make fighters out of fools and enhance the strong to be even more formidable. The fact that she didn't want to use them didn't mean she couldn't be pragmatic about it.

"But... perhaps you would like to work for me, Skeevi Merrill." Mercy finally said thoughtfully as she watched the woman. She didn't look anymore like a scrunchy street rat, but the nervousness was still there.

She didn't blame her.

"Think about it, a steady check, stability. You could use a Vigo's protection, I imagine... from those aforementioned customers that aren't as happy as you have made me so far, hmm?"

A cybernetic doc that could enhance some of her crop of followers that weren't totally useless.

 

[Skeevi Merrill]

Not Skeevi's first dubious underworld job offer; not even their first such offer in the last twenty-four hours. But a grateful influential former customer...a customer who claimed to be a Vigo of Black Sun, and nobody did that, nobody, unless they actually were...

"What kinda work we talkin?" Skeevi tapped the cabinet closed and got back to mopping. "No decraniations, please, and that's about where the line's at for me. That an' slave bombs, I don't do those. But you want new finger guns for your boys, patch'em up, that we can do.

"...you still got that spare arm?"

 

[Mercy]

Skeevi Merrill

Mercy didn't particularly care about slaves, nor the living or the dead ones. It was one of the few points where she still had not managed to make Alcariel understand. It was a lack of imagination, really. One who had always been strong could not imagine what it was like to be weak. If you couldn't imagine that, you couldn't empathize either.

But just as with her apprentice, Mercy didn't argue with Skeevi on the finer points of her moral limitations.

"As you say." She simply said with an inclination of her head. "That is exactly the sort of work I have in mind. Ever since I fought in the Kaggath, I have had people come to me, searching for meaning, purpose." She shrugged there. "Most of them are aimless for a reason. Weak, fragile, broken inside or out or both. But there are those with potential, that I could see make it far with just a little push in the back."

And once they were upgraded they would need to be maintained.

That's why Mercy offered a job rather than just a contracted temporary assignment.

"Shake on it?" And then Mercy reached out with her eldritch hand. They were standing quite some distance between each other. Her arm just grew longer and longer and longer. Until the mass of tendrils was hovering in front of Skeevi. "It won't bite, I promise."

 

[Skeevi Merrill]

Skeevi had absolutely got where they were by taking stupid risks. Fundamental to the lifestyle really. Also, after the last run off Coruscant, they really felt like that stability, no matter what terms it was on. They shook the hand, which was muscly and squishy and totally inhuman.

"This is the part where we talk about supply. I need a shavvitton of parts."

They released the handshake.

"iBorg, Cybot Galactica, whatever. Droid parts work fine long as I've got the cyborg interfaces to fit between the metal and the not. What kind of gear your people work with for the upgrade? Who you got doing the tinkering already and where they set up? This space works for me so far, but...

"...oh, and what am I makin?"

 

[Mercy]

Oh, Skeevi was a talker and enthusiastic.

That worked out well enough for Mercy. Someone who loved what they did, didn't have too many moral compunctions who they were doing it for as long as they were protected and paid.

"Do you now? Fun thing, Ashline Terminal has a whole area that is just shut-down factories and foundries." Eyebrow up as she glanced down at her. "Usually these places are well-protected, gotta pay hefty bribes to the Vigo's security to be able to restart one of these. Then pay even more to keep them running every week."

A lazy, self-satisfied, and smug shrug there.

"But whatdyaknow... I will just tell 'em to let you through and you can nosy around in there and salvage whatever you want. Granted, the salvage won't be cutting-edge. Years outta date, but if that don't bother ya, I am pretty sure CG had at least one factory there."

That was one question done but there were like a million more from the girl.

She began to raise fingers as she addressed her next questions in short order.

"Mix-mash of gear, no rhyme or reason to it. You are my first tinkerer, so pick a place and I will make sure the Vigo co-signs it. As for what... I want you to make a baseline. I got a bunch of people who aren't useless. I want you to standardize something that can be plugged into them, grafted onto them, whatever... and make them even better."

This place was feeling smaller by the moment as more words were added to the air.

"Suitable?"

Skeevi Merrill

 

[Skeevi Merrill]

The jawas had an idiom that translated to chatty recognizes chatty. Wise words.

"Wears all the suits yeh."

Old gear wouldn't be an issue; nothing in here was state-of-the-art. Skeevi had zero medical credentials. Such was life. Already Skeevi was pondering what they could do with repurposed industrial space. Maybe two operating beds. Cyborg up a couple people at the same time? Big dreams.

"Baseline's nifty angle. Done enough to know the averages for most people with most gear with most budgets. Tell me the kinda jobs. Priorities for like...how's this be? Make'em tougher for th'investment, basic data spike, get through weapons scan but reinforced hands to beat someone down, secret compartment for courier smuggling, commlink, look tough but not the biggest target in the room?"

Mercy

 

[Mercy]

Skeevi Merrill

"These folks need to be tough, durable, hitting hard. The places we go, we don't have support. Breaching a hostile space station without capital ship support. Raiding a military installation without air support. They need to be self-reliant, but a force multiplier if they settle in together. I don't want to baby-sit them for their survival."

Anything to make sure they didn't drag her down.

"That set-up sounds fine, yeah." Nodding along there. "Well, pack up your stuff, Merrill. You are going up in the world." A pause as she finally pronounced her last name.

"Merrill? Isn't that those fancy arse spacers and Sith? I think one of 'em worked with Varanin back in the day."

 

[Skeevi Merrill]

Merrill? Isn't that those fancy arse spacers and Sith? I think one of 'em worked with Varanin back in the day."

"Eh, rich famous ones got poor then dead. Lotta cousins though, not too bad. Saga's the good one and he's a droid, brings me back to Mecha Factum times. Ever know Mecha Factum? Sheeeeit."

These observations dispensed, Skeevi started packing and got their droids at that work also.

"You lemme know when the place is ready, send me some guards to make the move, I'll get it going. Make the guards guys you want cut up okay?"