Prices

[Zesiro]

Zesrio needed to hide, to escape and lay low for a while. She had a nearly fatal run in with a couple of powerful Sith and a Jedi she had thought dead. Her being attracted to the power of the Sith had brought her to Nubia and now she needed to leave. She had come in on a transport, leaving her ship at home.

After running from the fated site of her potential demise, she had gotten turned around backward. Attempting to find a location she could identify and locate the space port, she stepped out onto one of the main streets.

If that Jedi was still chasing her, he would catch her. There was no hiding from notice, she stood out like a sore thumb. In the future, she would have to find something less appealing to wear.

Turning to look behind and around her, Zesiro let out a sigh of relief. Neither the Jedi nor Sith were anywhere to be seen.

@Cinnin [member="Skaara Carlon"]

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

A probe droid, Imperial in origin, skirted through the streets of the Nubian city. Out of sheer coincidence, it managed to spot [member="Zesiro"] among the crowds of people walking around. Almost immediately did the droid raise its antennae, beginning to transmit a message in an encrypted Imperial code. Meanwhile in the Void Station system, an Imperial IV-class Star Destroyer patrolled alone in deep space for an unknown reason, at the whim of its dark master inhabiting the durasteel halls of the war machine.

​

​

High Inquisitor Skaara Carlon's meditation sphere opened with a hydraulic hiss when he sensed that someone entered his quarters. With the emotionless stare of his mask directed at the interloper, the man spoke in a deep, vocoder assisted voice "Yes, Captain?". The captain gulped "My Lord, one of the probe droids sent to the Core Worlds has spotted an Imperial fugitive on Nubia, an aspiring Sith who has been associated with various orders as well as the man with the alias of 'Vengeance'." He relayed, handing him a datadisk.

Once the captain finished talking, only mechanical breathing filled the room. "Very well, Captain. Set your course for the Nubia system, I will deal with this upstart personally." Skaara spoke, cutting the silence abruptly. As the captain left and the Inquisitor's meditation sphere closed, Lord Carlon began to acquire as much information on the target as he could. He stared as a hologram sprung up, considering something as the star destroyer made the jump to hyperspace.

[member="Cinnin"]

 

[Cinnic]

Cinnic was on one of the rooftops that hung over the main street that Zesiro was in. She hadn't left his sight for a moment. He hadn't come this far to lose the assassin, after all. He would need to act fast and strike quickly before she slipped into the shadows or, worse, sought help. At his prime, he could definitely handle the renegade Sith. He was weak when she struck him down, but now he was strong thanks to his undead friend.

The familiar twinkling of light came from his side, and there stooped The Wraith, his decomposing face furrowed in concentration.

"The streets are too public, Cinnic! You'll make a scene!"

The old man growled, frustrated that the specter was right, but headstrong to the end.

"Yeah, you're right...but I don't give a chit."

The Wraith's blue eyes rolled slightly in protest, but he didn't argue.

"Let's get her."

Jumping down almost directly in front of Zesiro, the famed warrior of old regained the blue fire in his eyes as The Wraith disappeared. Grabbing the killer by the throat with a rough, calloused hand, the shorter man quickly made his way to one of the street's various alleys with the female in tow as quick as he could. Time was of the essence here. No one could come to investigate, lest the local authorities be alerted. With a howl, the old man threw her into the dark passageway and unclipped his saber. A blue light shined out and lit the dark up, a holy flame set on purifying the galaxy of one more evil.

"Surprised to see me, schutta?"

[member="Skaara Carlon"] [member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

Zesiro was confident of her escape and went to move further out into the street when Cinnic suddenly landed in front of her. Before she could run away again, he grabbed her by the throat and pulled her along into one of the dark alleys. She didn't even have the chance to yell out.

Facing a Jedi full of wrath was not on her agenda for today. At the moment, she had no escape route and he had the upper hand.

She had killed him once and could do it again. Standing up to him, she brought her lightsaber out. Its red was in contrast to his blue. She looked him up and down, shook head at him before speaking.

"You could say that..."

Her saber was kept up as​ guard, while she continued to look for an escape route.

"I killed you."

[member="Cinnic"] [member="Skaara Carlon"]

 

[Cinnic]

"Yeah? There's a lot a man can survive when his child's taken from him."

Cinnic edged forward, his blue blade in contrast with her red one. There didn't seem to be any means of escape, at least from what the grizzled warrior could tell. Inch by inch, the two were edging towards the back of the alley, where a cold wall made a fitting dead end.

"Where is she? Where's Treya?!"

With speed and ferociousness similar to a wild animal, the Jedi struck, using an overpowering attack in an attempt to disarm the Sith. His rage was evident on his eyes, literally glowing with a blue fire, and his words were snarls and howls, barely discernible from the sounds a kath hound made when it was hunting.

"Where's my daughter?!"

[member="Zesiro"] [member="Skaara Carlon"]

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

The Imperial Star Destroyer was an interesting sight to all of the other starships in the vicinity of Nubia, many of the ships that were most likely harboring fugitives, smuggling illegalities, and the like veered away from the incoming ship and made the jump to hyperspace, paranoid at the thought of Imperial authorities swooping down on them and arresting them. But that was not the High Inquisitor's task in the star system, he was determined to capture, or kill, the Sith fugitive.

A Lambda-class shuttle craft descended from the hangar bay of the ship and made its way to the city that the probe droid reported the sighting from, landing in a starport. The boarding ramp lowered and lightly tapped the metal floor of the hangar bay, Lord Carlon strode down and shoved a customs droid aside that had come to greet him. He entered the streets, garnering many strange looks from the denizens due to his bulky, and frankly intimidating armor.

[member="Zesiro"] | [member="Cinnic"]

 

[Zesiro]

When Zesiro had killed Cinnic, his daughter had proved to be his death. After she had made sure the man was dead, she had taken the daughter captive and returned to her master. He now demanded to know where she was.

He was slowly pushing her further into the alley and she fell back. No escape for her, she was trapped. If she wanted to get away, she would have to go through him. Making a stand when he attacked, she was able to block it from disarming her, but he still pushed her back. He was all snarls and vengeance. Very unbecoming of a Jedi.

"She's safe, Cinnic. No harm has come to her."

Backing away from him again, she still kept her saber up. Maybe just the sounds of their battle would draw attention in this direction.

"If you want to see her again, I need to live."

[member="Skaara Carlon"] [member="Cinnic"]

 

[Cinnic]

"I'm not gonna kill you. I'm not like you. I'm gonna make sure you can't hurt anyone else."

Cinnic said all this in a very controlled, deliberate tone. His anger was getting the best of him. In his youth, the Jedi was almost kicked out of the Order multiple times for his constant use of aggression, a Dark Side trait, in battle. It was one of his fatal flaws, one that even years later was trying to drag him down.

The grizzled man struck out again, this time with control instead of boundless anger. He drew upon the teachings of the Jedi, focusing on the battle at hand. In a sweeping motion, Cinnic struck Zesiro's blade and then reeled back for another attack, this time to take off the assassin's saber hand.

The former Jedi still felt the call of the beast. It was a certain mindset, learned from his master, that allowed one to harness more primal emotions and lash out in a fury of strength and incredible pain tolerance. It was commonly referred to as the berserker form and was taught to very few due to the Dark Side emotions it drew upon. Cinnic was one of the few to learn it due to his rather unique temperament. For him, the mindset came as easy as breathing. Still, the killer was only one person. He didn't need to expend all that energy into a single opponent. Disarm and interrogate were his priorities right now.

[member="Zesiro"] [member="Skaara Carlon"]

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

He was nearing the coordinates that the probe droid had given him when he sensed them, two signatures in the Force right next to each other. Skaara, with the swish of his cape, readjusted his direction and took every route that got him closer to the two until he saw the alley way.

The High Inquisitor would appear at the end of it and mechanical breathing began to echo down the corridor. Examining his target, and the man, most likely a Jedi, the Inquisitor activated his lightsaber and a red blade sprung to life before him.

"There is no escape."

[member="Zesiro"] | [member="Cinnin"]

 

[Zesiro]

His words surprised her, but as Zesiro thought about it all the moves in the past made by Cinnic were not meant to kill her. Disable and disarm only.

"You're not like other Jedi, without emotion either."

He moved in for another attack and she realized she was running out of room to back up. While he was in mid motion, she shoved at him with the Force to hopefully push him off his course to take off her hand. She also took the last few steps back away from him if that didn't work. Zesiro did not feel like having her hand replaced.

She had not yet let her irritation show, but it was starting to creep in and if this lasted much longer, it was going to burst forth.

[member="Cinnic"] [member="Skaara Carlon"]

 

[Cinnic]

The push merely made Cinnic take a few steps back, which he gained again in a significant leap forward. Still, it moved him just enough to miss his intended target, the assassin's hand. This made the grizzled Jedi frustrated. He was about to strike out again in a whirl of blue when another voice rang out in the alley, a mechanical growl followed by the glow of another red lightsaber.

"There is no escape."

Cinnic peered behind him momentarily, keeping most of his focus on his killer. A machine stood before him, armor imposing, breathing loud and rythmnatic.

"Why can't a Jedi ever show up..."

He turned his attention back to Zesiro, but had his other pair of eyes watch the new figure all the same.

Concentrate on the killer. If need be, I will distract this other Sith. Now go!

"Who said we're trying to escape," the grizzled Jedi snarled under his breath. He then struck forward again, this time with a full intention to completely end the fight by taking out Zesiro's saber.

[member="Zesiro"] [member="Skaara Carlon"]

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

The High Inquisitor remained silent but moved forward into the alley way towards the two that were fighting, as the suspected Jedi lunged for the man's mark, he threw his saber as hard as he could at the Jedi's extremities, using the Force to guide the hilt as best as he could. Skaara did not bother to see if it hit or not, opting to draw the saber back into the palm of his hand.

Once he was in striking distance, the Sith Knight arched his lightsaber to the left and attempted to bring it back hard and slash the back of the older man in front of him.

[member="Cinnic"] | [member="Zesiro"]

 

[Cinnic]

Cinnic, behind us!

The old man barely managed to block the flying saber in time. Seeing as the man in armor that looked oddly familiar was the main threat now, Cinnic reached out with the Force and pushed Zesiro back towards the wall of the alley. It was intended to immobilize her for a few moments as he now turned to deal with the new threat.

The warrior blocked the attack meant for his back and strafed backwards, opening up some space between the two.

"I don't know who you are, chuba-face, but if you want a fight, you're in for a treat..."

Switching to the aggressive Juyo form that the famed swordsman was known for in his time, Cinnic sized up his enemy. That strange armor would most likely make the Sith's attacks more powerful at the cost of flexibility. Good. The old man was nothing but acrobatic. The alley was cramped, but he would maneuver the best he could.

"What do you want? Her? After I'm done with the schutta, she's all yours. I just need a couple of questions answered."

The Wraith seperated himself from Cinnic's body then, making his way in steady strides over to the assassin. His glowing blue body illuminated the alleyway, and his decomposing face was, quite frankly, terrifying at first sight, although it did occasionally shimmer to reveal a handsome face, with long black hair and pointed ears.

"Where is the child, girl? Speak, or I shall rip the answers from your mind!"

The blue fire had disappeared from the old man's eyes, but this didn't make him any less dangerous with his blade. Cinnic neither attacked nor gave ground, awaiting an answer from the Sith Knight before him, hoping to solve the issue of a second attacker diplomatically rather than have to fight on two fronts.

[member="Skaara Carlon"] [member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

Zesiro had already been backing up so the shove from Cinnic just aided in this and pushed her back to the end. Over the shoulder of the Jedi, she could see another form now. A sith with a red lightsaber, it wasn't either of the two she had been running from though so this might be to her advantage.

However, before she could take advantage of the situation, a ghostly form separated itself from Cinnic and floated over to her. The appearance varied from hideous to that of a handsome dark haired form. She looked it up and down as it asked her to tell where the daughter of the Jedi was.

She shook her head. Even if she knew where Milo was, she wasn't going to reveal their location.

"Rip away ghost, for I do not know. All I can say is she is safe."

Her eyes looked at the back of Cinnic and an evil grin came on to her face. Zesiro reached out with the Force to place a hold on him. This was a skill Milo had taught her and one she excelled at.

[member="Cinnic"] [member="Skaara Carlon"]

 

[Cinnic]

Zesiro didn't even have a chance to reach out with the Force when The Wraith struck.

A blinding flash enveloped her sight, and when her vision cleared, the woman was standing alone with the specter. They were inside Cinnic's hut back in the Unknown Regions. The Wraith shook his head with distaste. He wasn't ethereal anymore. Instead, he was a tall and handsome man, flesh and blood, shrouded in white robes that were as clean and fresh as snow.

"We are inside your mind now, child. This is my dominion. You will tell me everything you know about Cinnic's daughter...or I will hurt you in ways you cannot begin to imagine."

To emphasize his point, the Wraith slammed a hand down on the lone table in the room, breaking it in two. It was a show of force and to prove that, while he could cause no lasting harm in the physical world, in the mental world, he could affect anything and anyone with ease. A pale hand extended from his sleeve and reached forward, sending Zesiro careening to the hut's wall, pinning her in place. His body grew a literal shadow around it, darkening the entirety of the hut's interior and bringing about an incredible feeling of claustrophobia that many would find nauseating at the least. The near-Human then roared out in anger, assaulting the assassin before him with not only his words, but the sheer power of his mind as well, the second speaking in a tongue that was long forgotten.

"FORFEIT YOUR MIND!"

"DAAL TOL SHUL!"

Zesiro's body was standing perfectly still in the physical world, her eyes the only indication that something was wrong. They shone with a white glow as the internal battle was waged.

[member="Zesiro"] [member="Skaara Carlon"]

 

[Zesiro]

A flash of light was the last Zesiro saw before opening her eyes to find herself somehow back in Cinnic's hut. When she had left it, it had been nothing but a burning building. However, the Jedi was not there. Instead in front of her stood the apparition from the ally way. He was different though. He looked like he was in a physical form.

He was in white robes, had dark hair and elf like ears. For a heartbeat, Zesiro found him attractive, but that was quickly pushed out of her mind. He struck the table between them, breaking it in half so similar to what she had done with her lightsaber when she killed the Jedi. She watched as he raised a hand and found herself shoved against the far wall of the hutt. His form appeared to grow a shadow that filled the room. It almost felt like when she had been locked up slowly going nuts by the hand of her first master.

Utterly unable to move under the pressure applied, Zesiro's anger rose. There was no hesitation and the reaction instant.

"No."

Though the wraith yelled at her, she held her mind together and would try to prevent him from getting the information he wanted."

[member="Cinnic"] [member="Skaara Carlon"]

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

The High Inquisitor could sense what was going on between the man, or atleast what he thought was the man, and the girl. His emotionless mask directed itself towards the man who had blocked his attack, but was strangely not retaliating. "I came for the girl, but as you are already here; I will dispose of a nuisance to the Galaxy as well." He assured, ceasing his speech as he stepped forward. Contradictory to the heavy Djem So attack that he had attempted to do, Skaara removed one of his hands from the hilt of his saber, letting it hang on his side as he opted to adopt the contradictory form of Makashi for the time being so that he could analyze his opponent better.

Attempting to close the space, the Sith brought his saber up over his chest in a mock salute before beginning a flurry of swift, accurate strikes that were much less powerful than the one earlier, focusing on trying to dismember the Jedi before him. Though the armor did not show it, he had remarkable control of his wrists, which would allow him to exercise finer control of the saber.

[member="Cinnic"] | [member="Zesiro"]

 

[Cinnic]

Cinnic noticed the shift in style. Makashi. Graceful, elegant, and deadly. His swift strikes and rapid parries would be a nuisance to the former Jedi. No matter. He wasn't a Blademaster for no reason.

Adopting a Soresu stance, Cinnic began to block the jabs and swipes beautifully. Not a single blow meant to dismember him got even close to his limbs. The defensive style had its uses, although the old man was more comfortable with charging in and striking with blinding speed and ferocity. There was no negotiating with the Sith anymore. Cinnic had tried, though. He always did, regardless of who the opponent was. Oh well. It had been a while since he had gone up with a duelist who could hold his own. Might as well enjoy it for a moment.

"Good form, although the lack of flexibility in your armor leaves something to be desired for your wider strikes. I guess the Sith are doin' a decent job of training their cronies now. Back in my day, they'd just come in swinging."

The casualness of Cinnic's narration would serve to put the Sith on edge. He would most likely wonder why the old man was so effortlessly defending himself, enough to the point of being able to criticize his fighting style as if they were having a normal conversation. If he was like any other Sith, he'd get mad. And then Cinnic would feed off of that anger, using it to power his Juyo attacks that would come when he decided he was ready to go on the offensive.

Meanwhile, inside of Zesiro's head...

"YOU WILL NOT HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER!"

"KEZ LI PATUL O RENDI!"

The Wraith's face furrowed in an expression of anger. The specter wasn't expecting resistance. No matter. He'd just actually have to exert himself.

Striding forward, he began to actively destroy Zesiro's mental barriers with his sheer will. She was trained to resist mental commands, but this wasn't a command. It was complete and utter domination. When he had reached her, all it took was a hand to her forehead and all of her memories were his.

"Zesiro...is that even your real name," the Wraith spat out, with a sneer. "You do not even know your own childhood! Pathetic!"

The ghost, of course, did not mention the fact that he could not remember any of his life while living due to the passing of time. But that was understandable in his eyes. He had gone on in undeath for thousands of years. The girl didn't even look out of her twenties and she couldn't remember most of her life.

"I see a cage. A murdered old man, seated in his chair, put out of his misery. A redhead man...a woman. Bah! Useless."

In anger, The Wraith lashed out with a strong fist, hitting Zesiro in the gut with an amount of force that would've have disemboweled her in the real world, but in the mental plane, only hurt her. A lot.

"Wait...what do we have here? Ahhh. A lover, perhaps? Although I can tell he does not reciprocate the same affections. Such beautiful white hair. Such lovely green eyes. It would be a tragedy if his eyes were plucked, and his hair soaked in his own blood. Perhaps myself and Cinnic will seek answers from him next..."

The specter reared his head back and roared with laughter, a demonic howl that reverbed around the confines of Zesiro's mind.

"A little girl...Treya. It is her. With the white-haired man. Milo. Yes. You don't know where they are. That's all right. We managed to track you down halfway across the galaxy. We will find them."

The Wraith relinquished his will from Zesiro's mind, simultaneously releasing her from the wall of the hut. Rearing back with another hand, he launched a deadly attack forward, not with a fist, but with a clawed set of talons. The ghost was the master of all in this realm, making what couldn't exist in the physical realm possible here with only a thought. The claws ripped across Zesiro's head, making the left side of her face resemble ground beef. It would leave no lasting damage physically, but in her mind, she could feel every nanometer of pain, every nerve cell firing and overloading with signal as if it were really happening.

"A suitable fate for a harlot who relies on her good looks to kill. I've seen how many men you've slept with. You disgust me."

A shimmer of light, and a lightsaber was now in the Wraith's hands. He activated it, and a black blade sprung to life.

"Now, to end this charade."

The blackness reflected against Zesiro's ruined face as he stabbed forward, piercing her heart. The blade had a unique effect. It managed to surface every negative experience that the woman had ever had in her life in a brief instance, and with that horrible experience as a parting gift, she was now back in the physical plane, untouched, yet beaten senseless mentally, most likely left in complete shock over what just happened.

The blue fire in Cinnic's eyes returned.

[member="Skaara Carlon"] [member="Zesiro"]

 

[Zesiro]

When Zesiro refused, the figure grew angry as if he did not expect her to resist. However that resistance was short lived. She had a strong will, but it was nothing so strong that she could fend off the attacks of the wraith. He touched her forehead and it was open to him.

She felt violated at first, then the pain began. At first, it wasn't bad, but it became torture the further in he plowed through her memories. He threw insults at her as he dug deeper and further than she remembered.

Zesiro saw a red haired man and a silver haired woman, another child with her about the same age. Perhaps her family? All logical thought went away though as he delved to find the information he was searching for. That she could not help with, even if she had wanted to.

Milo kept on the move and their meetings were more rare as time went on. A schism had begun in their relationship. The specter informed her Milo no longer had the same feelings for her, but she already knew even if she couldn't admit that to herself. Even her own emotions concerning him had changed. Their mutual quest for power was the downfall. It would end the same way it began. However, she wanted to hold onto what was in the past and not let it go.

Even that thought fled away as the assault progressed. He was raping her mind and she could nothing to stop him. There was nothing she could do and when he released her from the wall, she fell. She could only lay open and exposed on the ground as he swooped in and attacked her face with his claws. Her face felt like it been torn to shreds and if she had been able to would have passed out from the pain. However, in this mystical prison of her mind, he did not allow her to escape.

When at last he relinquished his grip on her, he left her with all her memories of the horrible things that had happened to her in her life. Her years of torture with her first master mainly. She had loved and hated him. When she returned to her body, she didn't even know it. Sitting in a stunned and shocked pose until the sounds of the fight between Cinnic and Skaara penetrated her daze.

Shuddering and shivering despite the warm weather, her senses returned to where she was. She found herself almost curled up into a fetal position on the ground at the back of alley. The two were locked in combat in front of her and she had no escape that she could see.

[member="Cinnic"] [member="Skaara Carlon"]

 

[Graf's Archive Account]

"I was not trained by those pitiful excuses. No, those 'traditional' Sith are too convoluted in their lust for unlimited power and immortality to adequately train someone; I am an Inquisitor." Skaara mentioned idly, continually attempting several flurries of swift Makashi strikes "You are correct about the armor, it would be an issue if I had slaved myself to only one form." He corrected, stepping back for a moment. "As for your Soresu, you seem to be lacking the focus to truly utilize the form. Tell me, what is your business with the girl."

The form switch was what the Sith wanted, he moved forward once again and put his free hand back onto his lightsaber, bringing it to his far left and demonstrating a powerful Djem So slash once again as he practically threw his arms to the right, attempting to actually break through the Jedi's defensive stance.

[member="Cinnic"] | [member="Zesiro"]