Soma

[Keira Priest]

Music

Etti IV​

​

There had been reports of Sith activity. Or, well, suspicious activity, and faint whisperings of such at that, but as always Keira had her own impressions of things, and had learned long ago to trust her instinct above all else. And so she had taken it upon herself to look into things, operating on her own basis as was typical. The planet the reports had originated from was located in the fringes of Silver Sanctum space, and given that she had connections within that particular galactic power (albeit a single one), it wasn't difficult to manage passage. Obtaining the same fully armored and armed was another matter, but she had managed a military-grade pass easily enough. There were very few times where she believe in precaution, but dealing with potential Sith was one of them.

Of course, she had heard just about everything from Thalia during the trip, front to back and back to front once more. But the AI's complaints had been expected, and this banter was becoming routine for them besides. It was something that allowed her to keep a level head, and it provided some kind of entertainment as well. "You sure do look for trouble a lot, for someone who keeps saying they're getting too old for this." A clicking of her back teeth silenced the helmet's annunciator. "If it means one less Sith in the galaxy, I won't complain." The only thing to follow that was a sigh from Thalia. "Of all the things you decide to retain from your time in the Republic, it's that." She flashed a smile beneath the helm. "Nothing quite like executive order Black Flag. Shooting Sith on sight is something I can get behind."

Once she made landfall she knew her armored form would attract attention, but wasn't much for caring. Perhaps that was some of the point, given who she sought out. But she had brought civilian clothes for the day, and after managing to locate a suitable place to rest her head that manifested as a small hotel room, she donned that less conspicuous outfit instead, maintaining herself as fully armed but less obviously so. She had spent the rest of the day more or less wandering through the nearby city, not drawing any particular attention due to her countenance meaning nothing this far into the outskirts of Silver space. And that was just the way she liked it. Let others recognize her armor as some kind of symbol, but so long as she could pass for a civilian without it, she was unperturbed.

As night fell her armor returned, and her meandering took on a touch more purpose. "You're bad at this subtlety thing." Again, she conceded to in-helmet comms to keep this conversation silent to the outside world. "That's not the goal this time. This person's anything like me, they investigate into the person that's been causing the disturbance." "You really do think this is a Sith, don't you?" She really didn't have a reason to suspect as much other than her own rationale, and that had been wrong plenty of times before. But she didn't waver, and perhaps that was her ultimate downfall. "All the better if it's not, but I've learned not to take my chances. Besides, it's been awhile since I've torn out one of their throats." "It's only been around a month, maybe two." "That was just a mercenary." Another sigh on Thalia's part. "Of course."

[member="Darth Carach"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Keira Ticon"]

Etti IV was unique.It was located on an intersection point between six major trading lanes and directly connected to the Hydian Way through three of them. It heart beated commerce, its blood was trade and its soul… well, what soul? It had already exchanged it for credits and industrial power.

Carach loved it.

The intrigue rose up through the air and reminded him what it was like to be alive.

The Corporations ruled supreme in the Corporate Sector and Etti IV was its capital. The queen of trade and commerce. So, it wasn’t a surprise that the Sith Lord found his way here again. He had been here before, many times, but those were different times. Times of neutrality and times of the Levantine Sanctum. Times when you could be a Darksider and still do business in their space without worrying about a witch hunt.

"My Lord." Thorne stepped out of the shadows and more firmly into Carach’s study.

They were in one of his safe houses. One of the many that were scattered throughout the Galaxy and mostly located in common hotspots of activity.

Carach loved being close to the action.

"Yes?" The question came a touch later. He was still riffling through some information, trying to find the edge for his current dealings.

"A red flag was raised at the starport."
"Oh?"

The corporations ruled supreme and CorpSec was their fist. It was good, then, that the Sith had put on more suitable faces for their corporate dealings in the past.

"A mercenary with loyalties to the old Lasedri regime. Zealous and loud about her… distaste for the Sith."

"Amusing." Thorne could come up with a lot of things this was, but ‘amusing’ hadn’t been on the forefront of his thoughts.

"...yes, my Lord."
"Ah, well. Keep an eye on her just in case. Just the eye, please, no need to escalate for now."
"Yes, my Lord."

 

[Keira Priest]

Of course, it hadn't taken an exceeding amount of time for her presence to be noticed. An equally short duration had passed before Keira in turn detected that she was being watched. And so, like all things, this one had to come to some kind of end. This time, 'end' translated to death, as was oftentimes the case with her dealings. When all was said and done the vibroblade built into the gauntlet plate of her left arm was stained crimson, a corpse at her feet. Yet another toll in the immeasurable list of lives she had ended in similar unceremonious manners. But those affiliated with the Sith deserved nothing more, in her eyes. Flawed morality perhaps, but morality nonetheless.

If her presence had raised a red flag before, this had no doubt set off some kind of alarm. But she had wanted to draw the attention of the Sith, and this was one of the simpler methods to doing so. When in Rome, as the saying went, though this time Rome was a planet much too close to what she had come to recognize as friendly space, an abode none such as the one she sought out had any place intruding upon. It was best to eliminate the threat, and besides, it had been awhile since she had been provided a challenge in true combat. "I'm assuming this means subtlety is out of the picture entirely." She could sense the AI's inherent distaste at this death. "Look who's catching on."

Without pause she moved on from the impromptu murder scene, unable to sense any other interlopers, something that was at once satisfying and disappointing. "You wanted more of a fight. You know it's dangerous enough for you to be walking this line as it is." "I'm not going to fall again. This isn't just about the thrill of combat anymore. It's about solving a problem before it becomes one." "You know what the mask did to you. This is going to be worse." A beat passed. "Good."

Reaching down within her core she drew upon a well of power not often utilized for fear of what it was capable of. The Dark Side for her was at once an old friend and familiar enemy, and she held it at arm's length while maintaining some kind of close proximity. She missed it, but knew better than to welcome the poison back into the fold again. But there was no harm in letting go every once in awhile. And so, as she next inhaled she let that darkness seep outwards to every extremity, momentarily overwhelming her before she brought it under a more manageable control. And then she let her voice echo through the ethereal.

C̷͚̟̚o̺̝̪̤͓̭͗́m̜̖̳ͤ̅ẻ̢ͬͯ̈ ̵͎͉̫̲͔͚̋̄͊̓ͬ͛͂t̛̐o̝̼̟̭ ̤̹̩̻̏͐ͯ͆ͩ̚͘ͅm̲̲̪̯̣̔̈̚ȩ͌ͩ͛̐.̱ͥ̌̈

[member="Darth Carach"]