Private Red Light, Green Light

[Mercy]

NAR SHADDAA
RED LIGHT DISTRICT
Everest Vale

Some of her people were going missing. The idea that she had people who followed her was still a strange thing. Usually she'd shrug and ask why it was her problem. If they couldn't take care of themselves, that was their own mistake and clearly meant that they didn't belong among the Graspborn. But in truth it began to grate her. It was like someone was trying to challenge her and instead of facing her head-on, they did it by targeting those that were supposed to earn for her.

So she began to look into it in her usual brute way. Shaking people in the air, beating up those that saw something until their fear of her outweighed their fear of the killer. That much became clear after some questioning.

It seemed to be one individual, similar build, similar height, a whole lot of lack of info, but she managed to trace the killings back to the Red Light District. One of the more illicit entertainment zones. Little did she know that a Jedi was hunting the same prey, a serial killer she had tracked out of the Galactic Alliance territory and straight to Nar Shaddaa. Mercy was walking with purpose, pushing people aside if they weren't fast enough to make way.

Because there was screaming from the distance.

Mercy carved her way through the crowd like a knife through butter.

Finally some progress.

 

[Everest Vale]

Outfit: Undercover
Equipment: Lightsaber, Bracelet, Earrings, Seer Stone, Wayfinder's Flare
Tag: Mercy

Nar Shaddaa pressed in from all sides. Neon glare, the sour stink of spice smoke, the rattle of music spilling from open doorways. Eve moved with purpose against the chaos, every step calculated to blend in without disappearing.

She’d received word two days ago that a key source for the Hidden Path had gone dark. No comms. No sightings. On Nar Shaddaa, that rarely ended well. The network feared more agents embedded on the moon might be at risk, and Eve had been sent to investigate before their web unravelled entirely. Her search had led her here, the Red Light District, chasing the rumour of a killer who left bodies in their wake and nothing else.

She was becoming more accustomed to moving through the galaxy's seedier corners, but the Red Light District still made her skin crawl. Holo-signs cast flashing shadows over scantily clad women and men displayed like merchandise for the ravenous slimeballs drifting from doorway to doorway. Eve kept her gaze neutral, silent, but the quiet judgement was there all the same. This was not her world, and never would be.

The crowd shifted, and not just the casual ebb of foot traffic. There was a sudden ripple, people shoving past her, eyes darting behind them. A scream cut through the bass thump of music, sharp and too close.

Eve’s hand hovered near her belt, eye narrowing as she angled toward the disturbance. The Force prickled against her senses, a shadow in the air ahead — predatory and moving fast.

And through the press of bodies, she caught sight of someone carving a straight path toward the same place she was headed. They closed the distance in the crush of the Red Light District, and Eve found herself stepping into the stranger’s path just as another scream echoed from the alley ahead.

 

[Mercy]

Everest Vale

It was difficult to carve her way through the crowd without resorting to actual carving, but Mercy managed it through sheer force of presence and adequate application of physical violence.

Up until she was suddenly face to face with someone who did not wish to budge as easily.

Brows furrowed and she looked over the platina-haired woman's shoulder. The crowd was parting there, but it was difficult to figure out what they were gawking about. Not that it took a genius to take a wild guess.

"You are in my way, woman." Mercy said with sigh as she opted to give Everest the Mercy-special. In this case that meant walking stubbornly forward as if the other lady was a door. One that would open up if she pushed hard enough. "Not a smart karking decision when I am handling my business." She said by way of explanation as she pushed past her, or attempted to anyway.

She'd stand on business if need be, but this time around the blood was still in the air and Mercy was a hound.

Her prey was still nearby.

If she wasn't stopped Mercy would kneel next to the corpse. Messily made, lots of cuts, a slow death. Mercy grunted. It wasn't one of her people at least, they'd have her sigil on them somewhere.

"Where are you, little piggy?" The Sith murmured to herself as she glanced at the blood trailing away from the corpse.

 

[Everest Vale]

Outfit: Undercover
Equipment: Lightsaber, Bracelet, Earrings, Seer Stone, Wayfinder's Flare
Tag: Mercy

Eve braced instinctively as the other woman shoved through her, the impact jarring her a half-step back. For a moment she was simply taken aback. Nar Shaddaa was overflowing with gruff types but not many people on the moon carried themselves quite like that. Whoever she was, she moved with purpose and clearly didn’t give a second thought to anyone who stood in her way.

The Force whispered sharp in Eve’s chest. Not the killer. No, this was someone else. Dangerous in her own right, but not the shadow she was tracking.

Jaw set, Eve slipped back into the flow of bodies and followed. The stranger cut a swathe through the crowd, and Eve shadowed her wake, weaving around those too slow to move aside. The scent of blood grew thicker as they reached the alley, and the din of the Red Light District dulled to an ugly hum behind them.

She came up beside the woman just as she crouched over the body. The corpse was a ruin, carved and left to bleed out slowly. Eve’s stomach tightened at the sight.

Her siver eye swept the scene, then flicked toward the one who had pushed her aside earlier. Her voice was quiet, level, carrying just enough weight to be heard over the noise.

"I’m guessing we’re after the same man."

 

[Mercy]

Everest Vale

Mercy assumed that practically bouldering over her would have gotten rid of the woman.

Instead she seemed to have followed her.

The reason why became clear only a moment after. She glanced up at Everest with a deep-seated frown. "Guess so. I assume since you are not shocked by the body, he didn't jaywalk around you and instead also murdered someone you know." Mercy finally stood back up again and then looked down to meet Eve's eyes.

"Whoever it is, killed several of my men. I am planning on tearing him a new arsehole over it. If you don't get in my way, you can follow along to witness it firsthand."

Usually she wouldn't even allow that.

But Everest was Echani and she had a softer spot for them, because of her friendship with Quinn Varanin and growing up around her mother. It was only a little soft spot though.

She'd still tear her head off if she tried to interfere.

 

[Everest Vale]

Outfit: Undercover
Equipment: Lightsaber, Bracelet, Earrings, Seer Stone, Wayfinder's Flare
Tag: Mercy

For a heartbeat, Eve's jaw tightened. The bluntness of the woman's words grated. It was vengeance, pure and simple. Eve's instincts told her the killer could be more than a lone predator though, and if so, she needed answers before Mercy tore him apart. But she couldn't explain why. Not here. Not to her.

The Hidden Path couldn't be spoken of. Not on Nar Shaddaa. Not to a stranger whose aura was as sharp and dangerous as the knife at her hip.

So she said nothing.

Her silver eye met Mercy's with a level calm that hid everything she was thinking. Then she inclined her head once, almost imperceptibly.

"Fine."

No explanations. No bargains. She simply fell into step behind the woman, the noise of the Red Light District fading as her focus narrowed to the trail of blood ahead.