Prologue: Vos Nescitis Quidquam

[Valessia Brentioch]

"Wiz." The cashier remarked and called to the back to make the order a double, Valessia handed him a credstick from her pocket, where it had come from no one questioned. For Valessia, there was always a credstick in these jackets and usually loaded with enough for a run or two. "Here's your number, and your drinks." Cashier hands them the disposable cups one marked for fizzy and the other for tea.

Valessia looked over at Sumiko. She could tell that her 'girlfriend,' was serious and so her smile while there indicated that she was still in disbelief. "Okay well, if I am what you say I am, then." Closing her eyes the Scion wasn't even sure what she was saying but, feth it all. "I'm game, but we do this later." She motions with her fingers some silly gesture about the force, and then their number is called food is served in a cardboard tray. Handing her drink to Sumiko, Val grabs the tray.

There's a table by a window, "so I started this escort business before I got into, well, before everything in the last few years. Just as a way to bring in money." Setting the tray down she continues, "and we've had a few issues with the police but nothing I couldn't handle before. Sounds like this guy's a troublemaker, though."

Gliding into her chair. "Should be easy enough to send him on his way, check on the girls make sure he hasn't roughed any of them up." Her tongue goes to the top of her teeth, eyes narrowing. "Wonder what's with the keys, Articio doesn't normally have a special request unless." Tapping her chin with her finger as she puts her arms around her bowl flat against the table. She's got a distinct feeling that either this cop or whoever he's with has done more than rubbed the Rufigioni boy the wrong way.

"How's the tea?" Valessia asks, changing the subject, after all ,this was a noodle shop, and Val was never one for green tea to begin with. The broth is strong just as it always was, and the noodles are delicious the scion swears if she could get the recipe for this out of the owner she would. It's warm and hits all the right spots, the beans work for protein, and the greens pair up well with the veggie mix of space carrots and ojomian onions, and peppers of varying colors and sweetness. Nerf strips were tender to the taste and melted on your tongue, they were more for flavor than nutrients.

The sounds of sirens go by the shop but no one seems bothered, it's the norm around here. You could see the fourth, and fifth levels of traffic if you really pressed your face to the window. The higher you went the more lights you could see, the sun was still hanging in the sky for now anyway. "After Ori, we can see Curovao and then I can finally take you home with me." She says in a flirty tone.

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Valessia Brentioch"]


"Thank you. You're making the right decision, dear." They received their food and went to sit down on a table by the window. It gave them a good view of the crumpled, decayed district the noodle shop belonged to. Sumiko was being unusually introspective while her lover talked about the escort business and the need to put an uppity lawman in his place. Definitely not something they could not handle. But her thoughts were still lingering on Valessia's untapped Force potential.


The Scion's life would have been very different if she'd grown up in the Atrisian Empire. She would have been fed a steady diet of propaganda that vilified Force-users and depicted them as dangerous, unstable and in need of control, mixed with superstitious folk beliefs of them being deviant witches.


Perhaps she would have been able to hide in plain sight or simply ended up a registered Force-user, but in all likelihood the Inquisition would have nabbed her one day. They would not have allowed an independent Force-sensitive noble, even one who did not want to harness her gift. She would have disappeared into the night, been brought to the Citadel and broken in.


Perhaps they would have allowed her to continue being active in the corporate world, if she survived the gruelling training, but it would have only been a cover identity. Her entire life would have been controlled and devoted to serving an empire that feared her kind.


Perhaps it was just Sumiko's imagination, but the thin long scar running across her spine felt like it was itching. Beneath the scar used to be a tracker, a disabling device that could paralyse or cause excruciating pain at the flip of a switch. The Inquisition had been a twisted little family. It cared for its members and kept them safe from the Forcer-hating public, but it also put them in chains. Perhaps Sumiko would have been her trainer, but there would have been no fuzzy feelings between them.


She cast these thoughts out of her mind and gave Valessia a nod. "The tea's decent enough," she remarked, taking a sip from it. She had been distracted and it was best to drink it now before it went cold. "The noodles are lovely. Good choice," she added, beginning to dig into them.


Finally having put her thoughts back were they belonged, she gave Val a smile. "That sounds like a good plan to me, dear. You need to meet my sister some time. She's a bit younger than I am." Maybe you can teach her not to dress like a prole, she thought to herself a bit tartly. [member="Amaya Tanaka"] was an unrepentant tomboy and Sumiko suspected the girl dressed particularly sloppily just to annoy her.

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

Lunch was lunch, and with full bellies, they departed the shop and headed back to the bike. Cool, radiated air swept by them and the crumbling district's life went about its day. Climbing down the stairs they sit on the small vehicle, and Valessia gears it up. The sputtering sounds as it works back up can be around as it sputters out of the parking garage and sweeps up into the third level of traffic. They move from a dimly lit part of the Eye into an annoyingly bright area, where there are probably just as many neon signs as there are handheld weapons, signs of dancing girls, drinks, and gambling light the way as they come into a back parking lot. Getting down from the bike, Valessia grabs the keys to the bike and slips them into her pocket. She quickly links her arm with Sumiko's casting a few looks around as they walk with pedestrian traffic. Crossing a skybridge they walk toward a brightly light building, the bouncer outside recognizes them and lets them in the club.

Omega. Club Omega, belongs to the Rufigioni family as evident by the signature hex tattoos on their faces. Omega is lively even for this hour, which only makes you wonder what it's like at night. The moment they walked into Omega, was the moment Valessia detangled herself from Sumiko and gave her a 'follow my lead,' type look. She walked in with shoulders back and her walk poised to that of someone who owned the place. They walked up a set of stairs to the second level of the club, "Ori." Valessia calls just as they reach the lounge.

Oriana turns, smiling she rushes to Valessia. "Valley-girl, so good to see you!"

Valessia hugs Oriana like one would hug a younger sister. "Sumiko, you were speaking about your sibling, this is Ori. She's as close as it gets to being a sibling for me."

"You say the sweetest things, Valley-girl." Ori then looks at Sumiko and holds out her hand to shake. "Oriana Rufigioni."

"You said there's a poli sniffing around?" Val gets straight to business leading Ori to a couch near the balcony portion of the lounge. "I need a name, rank, precinct, the usual and what's with the keys your brother sent?" Val looks to Sumiko and directs her to a chair next to the sofa, it looks more or less where a guard would be.

Ori sighs, "his name is Svante Barroga, he's a Sergeant over at the Eye Seventieth." She's hesitant to say the next part but when she looks at Valley and sees her face, she knows better. "He came in and like I told you we tried to give him the typical cop treatment but he wanted more and he."

"What did he do?" Val demanded to know, her hand firmly grasping onto Ori's chin. "Oriana."

"Okay, so you know Cote right? Articio's boy?" Ori took in a deep breath, "well when we wouldn't give him more, he went to Cote and I don't know how he knew who Cote was, or who told him, but Cote got beat up pretty bad." Cote Kymerci was Articio's main squeeze as it were, Cote had been born Colleen but transitioned into Cote as a teenager. Articio and Cote went back nearly as far as Articio and Val. It was a golden rule, to never mess with lovers, children, or any other civilian who had no idea how things on Brentaal IV really worked.

Val's head went back and she stood up, tossing the coffee table in front of her over. "Drek!" She cursed, "so I'm just going to take a wild guess that whatever these keys go to, it's for this guy, right?" It suddenly explains the keys, they were more than likely to lockers or storage units with explicit instructions on what Articio wanted. Articio by nature isn't a very violent man, he's a solid business guy, but he doesn't like getting his hands dirty. His uncle, Deivani would handle it for him which meant that some other soldado, enforcer or lieutenant of sorts.

"His whole squad." Ori answers meekly, "his boys came in and roughed up some of the girls."

Feth. Valessia thought, she put a hand on the bridge of her nose, this wasn't going to be as simple as she thought. The whole fething squad? "And the poli's fine with this? Have we cleared it?"

Oriana nods and explains. "Deivani says he talked with Captain Parokovic already, Captain says just make it look like a big accident, or get them in a 'riot' or something. I think there's something in the lockers, that's where your keys go. To the lockers down by the transit hub just next to the precinct."

"Ori." Val called, "if I call Captain Parokovic, is he going to answer? And just how rough are we talking about? And what about Cote?"

Another sigh this one was long, "I, yes, Parokovic should be fine if you talk to him but..." She looks away, "Cote, he's. He's." There is hesitation. "He's okay physically but mentally? I don't know if he'll ever be okay, Barroga did him bad, Valley."

"And the girls?"

"Most of them are okay, one was critical the other should be stable."

Val bites down on her lower lip and looks at Sumiko. Her face is tight because she was hoping this wouldn't be a mess, but it was an entire mess of situations. "You know I don't have many rules." She began and then turned her attention back to Oriana, as her hand came to Ori's face patting it gently. "Keep my girls safe, and keep the business running." She brought Ori into her arms and kissed her firmly on the top of her head. "This happens again, don't wait for me to come home, alright? You tell me straight, call Edra. Ask for my ship's holo, I'll speak with Deivani and Parokovic before hittin' the lockers, okay Ori?"

"Yeah, okay Valley-girl." She says a bit shakenly, "sorry Valley, sorry I didn't say nothin' before. You were busy with the First Order and San Guinem, and."

"Hey, hey you're family, alright?" Val rocks the young girl in her arms for a moment, "gonna make a stop by the hospital, and then uh, I'll call you when it's done." Giving Ori another kiss to the head, Val rises up from the sofa, "you're a good kid, Ori."

"C'mon Sumiko." Val says with a nod of her head, "we got a few people to visit."

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWqKPWO5T4o[/media]​

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Valessia Brentioch"]


Club Omega sure lived up to its name. Alas, it did not have a blue-skinned beauty who proclaimed 'I am Omega'. Maybe one day Valessia would make cool boasts like that. 'Brentaal has no titled ruler and only one rule: Don't feth with Valessia!'. But this writer disgresses.


Moderately plagiaristic meta references aside, Sumiko was no stranger to the escort business. For a while Atrisia's Imperial Intelligence Bureau had maintained one for espionage purposes. The results had been rather mixed.


Anyhow, it appeared the situation was a mess and now they had to deal with a squad of abusive cops. Sumiko was the exact opposite of a moral person and had plenty of innocent blood on her hands. None of this particularly bothered her. Hence, sociopathic personality disorder. However, abusing a bunch of people for nothing more than your own gratification and sadism was very low, even for her. Typical primitive manlings.


Besides, the pain Cole had been through clearly upset Valessia a lot. She still was not sure what she felt about the fact that the woman's feelings were important to her, but it was obvious that they were. So she arose from her seat and followed the Scion out. "I'll help you inflict punishment on them," she said softly. "I imagine your friend has a rather specific idea of what sort of vengeance he wants unleashed upon them, yes?"

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

Valessia said little until they were back on the bike. "Cote Kymerci is more than just a friend, he was and is, Articio's main lover." She licked her lips as she navigated the vehicle toward the fifth level of traffic. "So yeah, Articio's gonna want Barroga to suffer. He's never been a violent man, but you cross him like this?" Val just shook her head, "he's got an imagination, I'll tell you that." Things were more than messed, they were beyond that at this point. "Listen, I should've told you before you came down here with me about all of this."

They're waiting at a traffic light, "the Curovao's, the Rufigioni's, they've been more family to me than my own. Mother always saw me as a tool, and dad didn't care, I wasn't his. Kallea won't recognize me, and they shouldn't, I'm the bastard that mother will always be willing to use." Moving along with traffic as she turned the corner, where the sunlight was now more than visible. "The Rufigioni's will always be small time here on Brentaal IV, and they know it, but even their small time is a lot more than most. Will ever see, at least here anyway."

The bike is now heading into a new district, boasting itself as, 'the Workman's Paradise.' Factories, shops, and plenty of middle-class labor happened here. It might be right outside of the Eye but it looks like a whole different country. Friendly looking places seem so inviting, so welcoming. Everything here was built for the working man and the families who enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the city. Here the apartment buildings that were clean, and lights that worked, "papa Curovao runs a deli shop around here." She explains as she moves down to the third level of traffic, "but like I told Ori. I got a few calls to make."

There's a public holo on a street corner right by a parking garage near a set of mom and pop shops. "We'll hit the flower and produce stand on our way to see him. The girls and Cote should be holed up at this hospital over here." She says gesturing with a nod of her head toward the large, glasteel paned building that read. Okeefe-Diagarran Memorial Hospital. Valessia glides the bike into the parking garage. Parking the bike, she shuts it off and takes the key, the air here is certainly of a better quality. The sun is starting to come down but it's still early afternoon, and the light reflects off every piece of material that it can, a stark contrast to the dark and dank way of life in the Eye.

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Valessia Brentioch"]


"You're a tool to the Curovao's as well. I remember the conversation with their minion," Sumiko said bluntly. It probably said a lot about how poorly things had been with her parents if she considered that clan better. Siobhan would have delivered a list of reasons of why family should be better, but the Atrisian was not a romantic like she was. Being a tool and family was not mutually exclusive to her.


Then again, Sumiko came from a twisted little family that demanded devotion while holding a gun to your head. Key point: She had broken her chains, though significantly only after things went to hell for the Inquisition. "They just give you attention and use you to do their dirty work for them. They'll tighten the leash as soon as you try to slip from it." Probably something Valessia knew herself.


"I'm sceptical my parents know I'm still alive. Nor do I know if they are. After all these years, I feel no onnection to them anymore. They were very eager to brand me a witch. I was whisked away by the State as soon as my Force-sensitivity was discovered, after a fanatical mob tried to burn me at the stake." She spoke these words in a tone of detachment and with little emotion, which hid the bitterness she still felt behind haughty disdain. "Then it was serve the Empire or perish."

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

Sumiko was right, she was a tool - something she'd been aware of since she was a young girl. "Yeah but I'm the best-looking tool they've got." She winked, and added. "They'd have notice that I've slipped my collar and leash first." She put an arm around her so-called girlfriend's waist. They walked along the path, passing by a little hair salon, a clothing boutique boasting some of the best menswear on this side of town. "You'd look good in that." Val points to the window display of a double breasted coat and fedora hat, "very good, I think, but maybe in navy blue - not beige."

The hospital was across a walkway, but they were heading for the public holo, "pop's deli is gonna be a few blocks down." She explains it hadn't gone without notice what Sumiko had said regarding her family. They were a few feet from the holo, and Val pulled Sumiko into her arms, "hey." She says softly, her fingers intertwining with the Atrisian's, "I know this is new but, I want you to know that I care about you." She leans in and kisses Sumiko gently, "c'mon lets go make those calls, booth should be big enough for both of us."

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Valessia Brentioch"]


Feign deference whilst sharpening the knife you intended to stab into your would-be master's back. This was a logic Sumiko could understand. Moreover, Valessia was definitely very pretty. For some reason, Sumiko believed a collar would look good on her.


They walked across the street, passing various shops. Even though this area was right across from the crumpled district they'd visited earlier, it stood in stark contrast. Almost as if one had entered a wholly different world. It was built for working families who kept a distance to the dregs of sociery, though undoubtedly the close proximity reminded them of how miserable things could become for them if they fell from grace.


She briefly laid eyes upon the double breasted coat and fedora hat on display in the window. "Yes, that would be nice," she remarked. Her tone was agreeable, but a bit distracted. The former spook had not wanted to mention her past for many reasons. It brought her back to a time when she had been weak and not in control of her own fate. A very valuable tool, but nonetheless.


Control was the means to survival. The strong do as they will, and the weak suffer what they must. She was momentarily taken aback by Valessia's words and her display of affection. "I did not ask for sympathy," she stated a bit stiffly. The Atrisian did not do emotions well. Especially not in a public place. However, she did give Valessia's hand a squeeze. "I do care about you. And I believe you will be glorious when you claim what is yours. Let's get started, shall we?" So she made her way to one of the booths. Murder was in the air.

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

Heading into the public holo booth, she closed the doors behind them. Inside, Valessia and Sumiko are cramped for space, but the seats are still comfortable and the upholstery isn't peeling and the console looks well cared for. Out of habit the scion wipes the console with a complimentary wipe. Taking off her jacket she sets it on the seat between her and Sumiko, and then works up the holo and sticks her burner cred stick in.

The first call is placed to Captain Parokovic over at the Eye's 70th Precinct. As soon as they ring it up, the call is screened by a desk sergeant. It's only a matter of seconds before Parokovic takes the call. He stares blankly for a few moments at Valessia, and then he sighs heavily. "Listen," he says running a hand through his dark hair, his brown eyes narrow on the woman in front of him. "I know they screwed up," he puts a hand on his face, his shoulders slump.

"Word is you want the whole squad to go splat, it was your word, in fact," Valessia reminds him, "your boys roughed up my girls, and then your boy Svante had to and beat up-"

Captain Parokovic is clearly agitated by this as he slams his hands down onto the desk, "I know what that bastard did!" He's not happy about his decision, "but when I cut a deal with Deivani, I-"

"Captain, captain, captain," Valessia soothes him, "you know how this works, we scratch your back, you scratch ours. What your boys did..."

He sits back in his chair a hand to his face, "these guys, this squad of Svante's they've been tight since the academy." He swallows hard and looks up at the scion, "I don't know what Deivani and Articio have in mind for him, but the other guys. Listen, there's a construction site that they're supposed to be investigating for a murder just north of the Eye, right by Little Atrisia."

"Whoa now, did we get clearance from those guys?"

"I said it was right by, and last I checked they were too busy taking care of the Baggio boys," Parokovic says, referring to the internal turf war going on in Little Atrisia. "Just, just make it look like an accident alright? Deivani says you're one of the best at doing that so please, please..."

Valessia nods, "listen, Captain. I'll make sure it's so clean that your squints will have to think it was an accident, got it?"

"Good." He seems comforted by this, "and Svante... that arrogant kark off, don't care what you do to him. Some of the boys here at the station have pulled together enough money to pay the judge. He's pissed off a lot of the wrong guys down here, and please... when you see Pops."

"That's Signore Curovao to you, Captain," she corrects and nods, "don't worry I'll tell him this was all one big misunderstand, but listen Captain. If Signore finds your boys are messing with us again, we're comin' for you, got it?"

"No, I- I understand... I remember the Commissioner."

Valessia nods in acknowledgment, "good, good, and uh don't worry about a thing. Go home, go to your wife, play the good husband and father that I know you are."

"Of course, thank you again Dolcezza."

She gives him a wink and cuts him off, and sighs. "Deivani better have a good stack of credits set aside for this job, Little Atrisia." Valessia mumbles under her breath, "last thing I want to do is deal with them." Buncha whacked out triads, yakuza or whatever little deal they've got going on over there. She was just glad that the Baggio boys were keepin' em busy and out of her hair. The brunette tosses her hair with one hand while inputting Deivani's information.

Deivani Rufigioni used to be a hot-tempered son of a hutt at times, and when the family was crossed he had been known to fly off the handles. These days the old man was a bit of an enigma to figure out but one thing remained the same, when the family had been crossed. He went to extremes... "Dolcezza, Valley-girl..." His voice trails it's a little cool, and Valessia feels like crawling inside of a hole. "It's been a long time baby girl, and is this the Atrisian thing you've had on your arm since you got back?"

"Sumiko, Deivani. Sumiko this is Deivani Rufigioni, my-"

"Uncle Deivani, don't go gettin' all formal on me kid," he corrects her and quietly from beneath his brows he studies Sumiko and then turns to Valessia. "Who am I to judge? Huh?" He gets down to business right after this, "you call Parokovic?"

She nods, "says he's got a spot for us up on the construction site just north of the Eye, right before you hit Little Atrisia," she explains to him, "but I don't like leaving a mess for the Atrisians to find."

Deivani seems to agree, "last thing we need is them gettin' into our business, uh, no offense." He looks to Sumiko and then back to Valessia. "So they're not gonna go splat where he wants it, but it will be an accident," he lights up a smoking stick and looks to the two women on the holo call with him. "You got the keys?"

"Yes, we do."

"Good, cause here's what you're gonna do," Deivani takes a drag, and while exhaling he explains. "Bruno's, you know Bruno's meat shop just down the street from the Captain's station?"

"I know Bruno, guy does a nice cut of tonitran," she remarks, to be fair tonitran was tough meat and the fact that Bruno sliced it up so cleanly and easily, well. "Whata 'bout'im?"

Deivani twitches the stick between his fingers, "well those keys you got, go down to his basement freezer. I got somethin' there for you to use, don't worry I left a pretty note for you." He takes another drag he savors this one, "and Svante? He's gonna be there, and Bruno's got this nice grinder, you know the one, the one for the big stuff."

"Articio left keys," she reminds him, "and I imagine Articio wants Svante to suffer."

"Beg," Deivani tells her straight, "Arty wants that man to beg for his life, and yeah you're right, Arty left you a present in which to do it with." He dips the stick into a tray, dusting off the ash, "and Dolcezza when you're done with that. Meet me back at Pops' place."

She nods, "of course tio."

"There's my girl, sweet little Valley-girl, alright hey I gotta go show these Dajaals how we do business around here, but I'll see you soon, alright? Oh and why don't you bring the little Atrisian number with you, might just make Pops keel over right there in the office," Deivani laughs, and Valessia laughs nervously, "alright bye baby girl."

After this Valessia calls Articio, he informs her and Sumiko that he wants Svante's death to be slow, and that yes, he wants him to suffer. For every minute that Cote suffered at his hands, he wants that man to feel it. Articio the normally flamboyant young man, was aggressive and told Val that he didn't care if Svante ended up splat all over the basement. He had paid Bruno a lot of money to help get rid of the evidence, and wanted Val to call once the deed was done.

The next call was placed to Edra, telling her that they'd made the safe house and that she had a few errands to run. Edra informed her that she'd gotten a call from Mr. Horne, "yeah some... Flamemane? No, Firemane that's it Firemane Industries wanted access to some of your files."

"My files?"

"Yeah the ones from uh, well, the ones that Yvaine did for you," Edra says delicately, "they said they needed them to confirm a few things for them?"

Valessia's face went pale and she fell back into the seat, her eyes went blank.

"Val?" Edra looks at her, "hey Val..."

"Edra," She says, "they're asking for Ryana's files?"

"Yes." The zabrak tells her, "Mr. Horne couldn't tell me anything beyond that but said you should call him as soon as you got home, and I've already sent Paddy over there. Cin and I are gonna hit the streets and see what chatter we can dig up about well, about things."

Valessia nods and asks, "and my parents?"

"Your mom called, says she wants to talk to you at the Kallea's place tomorrow. Says she's got a deal for you."

The scion scoffs, "of course she does, mom's always got a deal for someone, thanks Edra. Love you, give Cin my love."

"Yep, you take care and uh Sumiko, keep our girl safe, alright?"

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Valessia Brentioch"]


"I'll take care of Valessia," Sumiko said softly before the call ended. To her surprise, she found that she actually meant it. The Atrisian did care. She could not say how much or what the hell even existed between them or how serious it would become, but she clearly did. Even though this realisation frightened her more than she was comfortable to admit.


Meting out vengeance against a bunch of dirty cops was a far easier proposition. Nothing about this task troubled her. Valessia's pet wanted Scante to beg, and she was happy to oblige his wish. Most of the time Sumiko was not the sort to make an opponent suffer needlessly.


The reasoning was quite simple: It was sloppy and she preferred a clean kill. Letting your emotions get the better of you was fatal for a spook. You would also mess up an interrogation if you got carried away by sadistic desires and forgot the larger goal. However, there were exceptions. She'd made certain Atrisian officials who'd had a hand in the Inquisition's extermination and the terrible torment inflicted upon Force-users in Madeline Kahoshi's camps beg for mercy while she destroyed their psyche.


"Firemane Industries wanted access to your files."


Sumiko's eyes narrowed slightly as she let these words run through her mind. Firemane meant Siobhan Kerrigan. A woman the Atrisian did not particularly care for one way or another, though she knew her to be very powerful and capricious. Moreover, Firemane meant Mirien Valdier, Sumiko's former boss, and now the company's head of intelligence.


What could they want from Valessia? "They asked for Ryania's files?" Who could this Ryana be? The effect on Valessia had not escaped Sumiko. The Scion had paled and her eyes had gone blank. She was clearly agitated. A long buried secret might have reared its head. Something she really did not want known. Was there a prior history between her and Firemane?


The cause for Sumiko's discomfort was not wholly concern for Valessia. She didn't want Firemane to meddle in her life. Especially not Mirien, if she was involved. The time when she took orders was over. "What could Firemane want from you? Who is Ryania?" she kept her tone soft and placid, trying to hide the discomfort she felt. She gently took the Scion's hand.

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

"Ryana," Valessia slumps against the holo's walls. Closing her eyes tightly, her body shudders and shivers with the pain of years ago. A hand to her chest as she felt that hole in her heart re-opens, "she." The brunette swallows hard and takes in a deep breath, exhaling softly. The brunette squeezes the Atrisian's hand and she tells her plainly, "she's my daughter." Looking up at the top of the holo, she exhales. "Was my daughter."

"I gave her up when she was born," Val moved her hand out of Sumiko's and put them over her face, "Yvaine. Yvaine helped me, she did everything." Looking down to the floor of the holo, she continues, "between the divorce and Dielan leaving, I couldn't afford the scandal of a baby, especially..." A brief pause, "especially since I had no idea who the father was, and it was..."

Valessia takes a moment, running her hands through her hair and then settling them in her lap, her gaze turns toward Sumiko's and she explains, "it was just, so unexpected," her shoulder slumped, "but I hadn't, I hadn't slept with a guy in- but I have no idea why Firemane wants her files. Siobhan could just call me." She assumes this is Siobhan's doing, and hits the wall of the holo terminal, repeatedly. "Fething Kerrigan." She curses and then rises shoving the holo door's open, "remind me to call her when I get to the house."

Storming down the path she makes haste for the bike.

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Valessia Brentioch"]


Valessia had a daughter! It took a lot of Sumiko's self-control to maintain her composure. She didn't know to respond to this revelation, so she focused on the more immediate issue of the Firemane executive demanding her files. "A child? I see. I know Kerrigan. She has no right to meddle in your life and go behind your back," there was a strong note of disdain in her tone when she spoke the name.


Based on what Valessia had said - and more importantly, what she'd left out- it seemed the two had prior history. Knowing how Kerrigan operated, Sumiko would not be surprised if they'd had a fling. "Yes, do call her when you're home. You're entitled to answers. I am perplexed by her request," She noticed that in her haste, Valessia forgot to grab the credstick from the holo, so the Atrisian did it instead and quickly followed her, hopping onto the bike. "Let's punish the cops. I feel like hurting this Svante. A lot." Her eyes were twin orbs of obsidian.

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

Valessia didn't want to speak any further but the matter ran hot under her collar. The small hoverbike vroomed as fast as it could vroom. She moved up to the next level of traffic and maneuvered the bike, back toward the Eye. Gone were the glasteel glitter of this worker man's district and back to the depths of the forgotten. Where the poor and destitute come to live and scrape by, back to where the light was hard to come by but the fourth level seemed to be a little better, not much, but enough to remind you of where you could land... Splat, or down on the gutter levels where people still use ground transport.

Bruno's Butcher Shop was a few blocks down from the station, and it was here that Val remembered she that she was gonna see the girls and Cote. Sighing, she decided that she'd make the tomorrow but made a note to send flowers. She parked around the corner from Bruno's. Checking herself over she ensured her carbine was still on her person and so were her other weapons. She led Sumiko down the walkway where the guard rails looked like they've been recently installed.

Pedestrian traffic was heavy as per the norm, and out loitering around the butcher shop were a few patrons. Some were waiting for the skybus and others were simply chatting. One or two recognized her. "Dolcezza, ehi, come stai?" Valessia hears the old Brentaalan dialect, as it is a dialect, Brentaal's old language came with over a few hundreds, perhaps thousands of dialects each with their own unique family of languages, subfamilies and offshoot dialects of those as well.

"Sto bene grazie, scusami," She gestures and they nod, but a for a moment the patron's eyes linger on Sumiko. The scion moves right in through the old storefront, it sits with its old facade as a reminder of when the Eye truly was a bustling district. "Il vecchio Bruno." She calls out just as soon as they get through the door. Unlike the worker's district where Cormond's older architectural techniques go. The Eye had no such luxury and each building was a steady hold of duracrete. Lines from the building's age could be see, and Bruno, Bruno was a big man. These buildings weren't made for a guy like him.

"Dolcezza, bambina," He greets her with open arms, "your tio Deivani called about your special order, why don't you and uh."

"La mia donna," There's a wink from her and the old man, who stands taller than the doorway to the back of the shop , laughs heartily, as Valessia explains, "she's good - told her about the order, she's here to help."

Bruno nods, "come." He gestures for them to go with him into the back of the shop.

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Valessia Brentioch"]


Sumiko kept her eyes on the station when they made their way through the street, noting the comings and goings of cops. The Captain they'd spoken to earlier had assured Valessia he would not interfere, but even so the Atrisian was not the trusting type.


However, no one dared gainsay them when they stepped up to the butcher shop that was just a few blocks away from the station. Now they back in the district the poor, the destitute and the forgotten called home. The scent of desperation was strong and permeated the air. Traffic was heavy, patrons were loitering outside. Sumiko kept her expression neutral but guarded when patrons stared at her.


La mia donna? Really? Some of the Brentaalian chatter from earlier had confused her slightly. Clearly she needed to purchase a dictionary to keep abreast of all the local dialects. In all fairness, it was just as bad on Atrisia. "Nice to meet you," she said politely, following Bruno into the shop. "You have a 'package' for us?" More of a statement than a question. She was looking forward to the chance to hurt a certain cop soon.

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

The big oversized butcher of a man leads them through the back, tables with grinders bolted on to the ends, tables meant for cutting, and others with machines that allowed for the shop to make their own sausages. Meat cured naturally, or as naturally as you could get around here. You looked up and saw them hanging from the rafters, a large set of metal shelves with spices used to cure the meat. Bruno guides them downstairs, where some of the bigger cuts or sometimes, whole animals were dealt with.

Including a very nasty looking grinder. There's a set of lockers just before you walk into the freezer directly. Bruno turns and holds out his hand, "you got the keys?"

Val nodded, "yeah we got the keys." She gestures for Sumiko to hand them to Bruno. When he takes them he unlocks his locker and walks away.

Bruno is ascending the stairs when he stops, his hand on the railing, he turns, "don't worry bout the blood, consider it a favor, just be sure to lock up on your way out."

Inside the locker, a serrated saw, a drill and an assortment of hammers. All things you would find in a butcher shop like this, these tools were meant for hacking their way through bones and tough pieces of meat, on animals. And Svante? He was an animal, Valessia looked around and saw a chair set by the big grinder. Turning back to the locker she notices something glinting and so she approaches the locker and sees a meat hook. She cringed knowing exactly what Articio had in mind, "right, but the squad that's still gotta be an accident, there's gotta be some sort of happy medium here..."

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Valessia Brentioch"]


Sumiko crinkled her nose slightly. She was not squeamish, but preferred her kills to be a lot less messy. "I can mind rape the squad into succumbing to madness and killing each other. It will be very painful, both physically and mentally, and it will leave no trace as to the cause," she offered when Valessia brought up the conundrum of how to deal with the squad. Fortunately she didn't need any voodoo dolls.

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

Valessia nodded, "works for me the quicker we can do this, the sooner we can get home." She was already starting to feel the filth and grime from the Eye, the jacket she wore weighed heavy and created sweat between her skin and clothes. Running her hands through her hair she motioned for them to walk out of the shop. On their way out she wrapped the meat hook in with a fairly thick cut of roast. Tying it the way Bruno would've she greeted him behind the counter with a hug saying, "grazie."

Outside of the shop, they headed back for the bike where she opened the seat up and placed the package inside. "He said he was sending them to a spot just by Little Atrisia, wonder if they're there now," Val said to herself as she started the bike up. "Still sure you wanna keep playing house with me?" She asked the Atrisian behind her as the little hoverbike sputtered off.

They headed in a direction parallel to the worker's district. In fact, as Valessia rose through to the fifth level of traffic you could see the big hospital off in the distance. She switched up into the faster and more chaotic sixth level pushing on the hoverbike's speed. Weaving in and out of traffic the holoboards boasted that was being built would be something for all to enjoy. "A cultural center?" She shook her head, "huh." That was interesting but not nearly as interesting as the view of Little Atrisia. It was a smaller district, but more compact and way denser population wise.

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Valessia Brentioch"]


"Let's just say you've given me incentive. Besides, assassinating a bunch of dirty cops and deceiving deluded aristos is a welcome change of pace," Sumiko commented dryly. Well, it was a change from evading killer droids and searching for artefacts in dusty, old tombs infested with Sithspawn and evil spirits.


She took up position on the hoverbike behind Valessia and wrapped her arms around the Scion. Soon the little bike was shooting across the streets. Traffic was as appalling and chaotic as could be expected, but Valessia weaved them through the sea of vehicles that filled the sky. Sumiko scoffed when she the holoboard ad about a cultural centre. "Maybe they'll actually get kimonos right," she commented airily. Her eyes took in Little Atrisia as the craft dashed through the sky.


The district was small and densely populated but compact and she had a good view. In a way, it did look like some districts in Jar'kai. Before things went to hell. "Well, where are our 'friends'?" she wondered. She wanted to get to the killing and then do non-PG-13 things to a certain Brentioch.

 

[Valessia Brentioch]

"Somewhere around here," Valessia remarks, "c'mon lets see if we can't grab a few new threads, we stick out around here." She mentions while gesturing to the portable office where workers from the construction site went in and out of. The construction site itself wasn't all that great of a thing to look at it, it was big, noisy and there were a lot of people around. Although a set of cops might be easy to find, cops always acted a certain way. The building she had pointed to was further away than it looked from where they had parked. They walked a kilometer or two at best down to the site and then crossed to the office. There wasn't a keypad or anything to the office, so she walked right on in where a secretary greeted them.

"How ya doin' ya two 'ere for the electrical work?"

Valessia didn't even hesitate, "yeah came down from labor ready, but we forgot our datacards at home."

"No worries hun, just sign in and walk back to your left, punch in and when you find your datacards yous two can send'em back, we'll stamp'em for ya," she explains and then looks away.

The brunette motioned with her head for Sumiko to walk with her as they walked past the secretary. The hall was pretty narrow, the walls were cheap and dirty to left was the punch-in board along with helmets and some basic electrical gear and a few lockers. Val walked in and began rifling through a few lockers until she found one in the back, "we can put our jackets in here."


[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Valessia Brentioch"]


Portable office, construction, plenty of sweaty workers. It all looked a bit like certain holovid commercials. One of them whistled when the two ladies approached the office. He may or may not have experienced a sudden ache in his manhood and tripped, whereupon one of his buddies gave him a good ribbing for his clumsiness.


Sumiko followed Valessia as if nothing had happened. The site was big and noisy, but the dirty cops must be close. Valessia did the talking when the secretary greeted them, they went down a hall and reached the lockers. Sumiko gave the Scion a nod and took off her jacket, depositing it in one of the lockers.


"Our friends are close. I can feel it," she remarked. Why? Because magically empowered senses. The usual Force wizadry. She reached into the pocket of her trousers and idly stroked across the darkside imbued ring in it. The ornate piece of jewellry radiated power. It would be quite useful.