Take Me Home

[Rose Kuhn]

She had been walking for what seemed like an age.

There was a blanket draped over her, a leather jacket under than, and a ragged hospital gown beneath that. The coat was heavy, sinking into her bare shoulders as though it were made of stone, covering her but making her feel like she had been dragging a stone. The blanket was to keep the rain out. It didn't rain often on Coruscant, but at times they had to make it do so in order for the air to clear.

Tonight had been one of those nights.

Her hair was already soaked, her gown was ragged and torn, and her feet were bleeding from the glass and jagged metal she had stepped on. The pain didn't come to her, it had been nothing compared to what she had experienced the last few weeks, what that plague had done to her.

For a second she stopped, inching against a wall with a tiny windowsill hanging over it. For a brief moment she tilted her head back and rested. Her body still ached, a dull throbbing ache. With every breath she could feel her skin stretch across her bones. She caught her reflection in the wall to the right of her. She was skin and bones, almost skeletal, yet her hair was still a bright vibrant red.

A small smile crept upon her face. "At least I still have that."

She had always liked her hair, it reminded her of her mother. For a few seconds Rose shook her head, then she stepped out into the rain again. Music came to her ears, the loud obnoxious throbbing of electronic instruments. Her eyes wandered, finding a massive neon sign.

"Nightside." She read it outloud, her head still rather cloudy.

The name seemed familiar, painfully so.

Her face scrunched for a second, and then a realization came to her. She remembered a card, a small business card tucked into the coat of her sisters jacket. It was a nightclub that Lily had gone to. Her lips thinned and determination fell on her face. Perhaps her sister had done business there, or even owned part of the club.

She could find a way home.

Her shoulders straightened, and quickly the gaunt little girl wandered into the nightclub, parting the crowd with an almost ghost like air around her.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Club Nightside.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]In any other establishment it would be a name that signified a certain level of hypocrisy and a lack of self-awareness, because weren’t most night clubs catered towards a very specific clientele? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Underaged youngsters with a tendency to lash out towards their parents, who didn’t know what they wanted in life but thought they did and had cash to burn. The perfect client for most night clubs, and they catered to them with edgy names, pink neon and crappy music that nobody with half an ear would ever want to listen to. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Club Nightside was different in that regard, in many ways it was an establishment hidden within the nooks of society, scarlet neon projecting an aura of casual disregard into the night and as Rose would enter the corridors themselves the soft hum of the electronic music would give away towards the more pronounced buzz of the heavy bass in the background. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Her steps would take her further into the building, each step growing more burdensome and she would get the distinct sense of being [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]watched[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px], if she bothered to look around though there wouldn’t be any signs of those watchers.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Just the music, just the regular patrons minding their own business. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But her presence was immediately noted by the few followers that were currently scrounging around and begging for favors, it was a different sort of note from when her sister had arrived - it was a note that underlined the scruffiness of her fabric, the blood that trailed behind her and that weariness that clung to her like a sickness, you could almost [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]smell[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] it.[/SIZE]

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

She had never been one for nightclubs, that was Lily's scene. While her sister had partied and ran around, Rose had always trained. Whether it had been with her Mother, droids, or more recently, Vrag, she had always trained. There had never been time for fun, never been time for anything but getting stronger.

In the end it had all been for naught.

That thought brought a sad smile to her lips.

Her eyes wandered around the halls, slowly taking each corner with deliberate steps. Warmth began to hit her, the warmth of dozens of bodies inside of a building. The thrum of bass heavy music pressed against her ears, and almost instinctively she pushed her back straight up, stiffening slightly as though she were a cat being threatened.

The blanket fell from her shoulders, the leather jacket sagging around her frail form. Her lips thinned and she pushed through into the nightclub, her eyes scanning the room, searching for any sign of an authority figure.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]In many ways Club Nightside was a hub of commerce, a trading node that had its anchors latched deep in the more… [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]unorthodox[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] nature of the Coruscanti underworld, a nature that seemed to thrive on blood, sacrifice and the desperate nature of the wicked and damned, anything that your soul has ever desired could be found here.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]You simply needed means to pay for it, and it was almost never cash that the patrons wished for.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Nightside was in a lot of ways an illusion, a step into a far wider net that most people never even knew existed, because they were far too busy with their [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]lives[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]. Some simply were too enthralled in the common pleasures of the flesh to truly appreciate opportunity, others were too busy with the duty of training and becoming something [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]more[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] and there were simply those that were too frightened to take a chance in their entire life. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Most regular patrons felt instinctively that Rose did not belong here at all, it wasn’t the blood, it wasn’t the frayed ends of her dress or the broken texture of her leather jacket. It was the… [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]purity [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]of her dedication, an unspoiledness that did not quite belong here and so they stayed away from her.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Anathema to their damnation.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]It would take a few more whiles before anyone had the heart to slip a message towards the Underlord himself, few people really wished to bother him these days with something that might turn out to be trivial and not worth his time.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But eventually the likeness to the interest of the other night sealed the deal.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Another few lasting moments passed, before she would feel a certain… [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]inclination[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] to move towards a specific direction. If she decided to follow her judgement, she would find herself following a long corridor that did not seem to end - until it finally did, of course.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]A simple durasteel door with no decorations was set at the end, it was closed.[/SIZE]

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

Rose wanted to kill them.

She had assumed that feeling would go away. She had assumed that without the force, without the darkside, that feeling would simply disappear into a wisp. Yet every time someone looked at her, every time she saw pity or disgust in their eye, every time she heard them whisper about her, that spike entered her heart.

It was a spike that had found its way there often. Always it was what had driven her, what had made her do the things she had done. Her eyes closed for a few seconds as she thought about the people she had killed, what she had done for Vrag. Her eyes folded open, and slowly her head panned towards the left.

Without reason, without explanation Rose began to wander forward.

The people still avoided her, eyed her, but said nothing. Quick and careful steps moved her towards the hallway. It seemed to go on for miles. Bloody footprints trailed behind her as she slowly came to the end, faced with a heavy steel door.

Her lips thinned and a skeletal hand reached out, Rose Kuhn would not be denied.

A fist slammed against the door, once, twice, then a third time.

She may have been at deaths door only a day ago, but she was still herself. Still her fathers daughter, and her mothers heir.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Curiously enough the door had not been locked, simply… [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]closed[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But this in itself was a lesson, perhaps a suggestion imparted towards the Underlord and his observation of the other Kuhn. A girl that did not seem to be much in the way of subtly, who had been presented with an obstacle and decided to smash her fist into it, instead of attempting a slightly [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]less[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] self-destructive method of reaching her prime target.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Truthfully this bashing of meat against metal could have continued on for quite some time still, durasteel might not possess the indestructible potency of beskar or the lightweight improbability of phrik, but there was a reason it was still the main material for any security measure. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]It was enough for most usual situations.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Finally then… her firm knocking brought a reaction forward with the door inexplicably opening itself inwards and allowing her to go through. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Inside, her eyes would first have to refocus towards the even dimmer light. At her left there was a curious mirror and to her immediate left was the rest of the room, at the end an old, oaken table with a man sitting behind it. Blue piercing ice, scruff on the face and a cigarette balancing between the lips, he seemed to be studying her for a moment - before disregarding her, his eyes returning back to the datapad in front of him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]There did not seem to be anyone else in the room.[/SIZE]

 

[Rose Kuhn]

Well, at least she finally found someone of authority, or so she assumed. Her lips thinned again, her eyes adjusted. There was no looking about the room, no watching for enemies or potential threats. Vrag would have beaten her for that, but right now Rose didn't care.

If she died.

She died.

Her feet carried her forward, blood dripping down her heels and leaving that same ugly trail on the ground behind her. Her back stiffened and slowly she walked over towards the desk. For a brief moment she scanned what lay upon it, then looked at the man behind the oaken structure.

Unsurprisingly she didn't recognize him. Lily probably would have, no doubt he was the owner of this establishment, yet her sister wasn't here. For a brief moment she considered what to do next, and decided that she would have to speak first.

“My name is Rose Annaliese Kuhn.” The middle name was an important tidbit, not many people knew it, and those that did would be aided in recognizing who she actually was. “I have no money, valuables, or anything to trade with, but I need to get to Empress Teta.”

Horrible proposition. “If you can arrange that, I can pay you when I get there.”

Rose had never been one to beat around the bush, talk was cheap after all.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“A bold proposition, Rose Annaliese Kuhn.” the man would reply, still reading the datapad and not paying her much attention - at least not in the way of eye contact or open study.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Which was not to say that there wasn’t a more spiritual observation going on, much of which was centered around that singular name she had brought up. Lily had told him a little bit about her dearest sister, a girl that was completely disinterested in the regular vices of young, mindless girls and apparently the more intelligent of the two.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]It could present a problem… or an opportunity.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Part of Khal wondered if it wouldn’t be smarter to simply make her disappear, as to make sure that his own plans with the Krath and the drug routes wouldn’t be put in jeopardy. It would be the prudent way, the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]right[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] way depending on who you asked. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But he hadn’t gone that far off… yet.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Pay me how?” the Underlord looked up from his datapad, locking his eyes and waiting for the answer to come.[/SIZE]

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

At least he was smart enough for that. “Money. Guns. Armor. Take your pick.”

She didn't run any businesses, she didn't control any massive corporations, but Rose was richer than most planetary star systems. Her father had left her and Lily a great deal of money, most of the profits he had made from the sale of Astraeus Industrial to the Hapans, a multi-trillion credit deal. Not to mention she still knew where some of her fathers old warehouses were located.

It was enough to tempt any club owner, smuggler, or whatever the hell else this man was.

Rose didn't particularly care for his name or motive, as long as she got home, none of it mattered.

Briefly she wondered what her father would have done in her place. Normally she would have thought of Silara, she would have thought of her mother, but now...now she could not do what she would have done. She could not simply break this man with the force and slaughter the entirety of his club. She had to be like Alric.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]A mirthless smile flashed, but the interest that had been there a moment ago was slowly dissipating into nothingness - but he couldn’t really blame her for any of it, she didn’t know him and the Underlord had made sure that most of his privacy was protected… that random people couldn’t just take one look at his face and magically know who and what he represented.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]This representation was a criminal organization that spanned the Galaxy and beyond, a criminal organization that had slowly infiltrated the daily life of many citizens. A syndicate the size of which the galactic civilization hadn’t seen since the destruction of the Black Sun at the hands of the Sith Order all those years ago.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]No, money… guns… armor? It did not interest him, as much as something else could interest him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Influence.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]There was that enterprising, ancient soul that sought out opportunities like a drowned man looking for a breath of air, and this was an opportunity if it was anything. Because the name of Kuhn still meant something in some places of the Galaxy, she was not completely useless to him.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Especially if she was smarter than her sister.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“I do not deal in such commodities.” - At least not directly, there were the subordinates of his syndicate who would gladly have taken that off her hands… but they both knew that they would also gladly rape and cut her throat; perhaps not in that specific order either. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“You will be indebted to me.” the Underlord finally replied.[/SIZE]

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

She scoffed.

“I don't deal in debts.” Her voice was strong, reminiscent of her father. “Kuhn's don't deal in debts.”

That was a simple rule, something her father had taught her.

Never bargain with something you aren't certain of, and especially never bargain with yourself. That was a move only a fool took, a gambit that would be too costly. There were many pawns on the board, and even a few Knights, but there was only one King.

Regardless of her position, regardless of how weak she was or how hungry, she would not go against the principals that her parents had taught her. There was always another way, always another avenue, she would simply have to find it. Slowly Rose turned around, the metal floor beneath her still slick with blood.

She began to walk away.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Now that got her a chuckle, a throaty sound originating from the depths of a long, long edge. Not that it took very long to vanish again, folded up and taken away for later retrospection - the humor was gone as soon as it had come and Khal nodded once.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]It wasn’t a nod for her, seeing as her back was still faced to him, it was more a nod to himself. An acceptance of the making of deals with those that were farther up the scale from mentally incapable, if only slightly. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“At least you are smarter than your sister.” the Underlord would finally say, before she would leave the room, but it did not only show an observation of her intelligence. It also showed that in some ways she might value her [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]word[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] more than most people did these days - surely most would have simply accepted the deal, thinking that they could go back on it at their earliest convenience? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]A sad truth the Galaxy had sunk itself in, truly.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]But Khal could work with armor and guns, he himself had stolen a quality piece of Asheran Armorweave from a Titan Facility before it was taken over by the Sith… quality indeed. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Having some of his men outfitted with that kind of gear could mean a certain [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]edge[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] over the usual elements within the criminal underworld.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Yes, I think we can do business.” - Which was a step up from him simply telling her how it was going to be, she was already in a better position. [/SIZE]

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

Her lips thinned.

So he did know her sister. That didn't surprise her really, though the insult boiled her blood. Rose had never taken kindly to people insulting her, and even less, Lily. Of course she didn't need to be protective of her sister, but she still was. They were twins after all, Lily was like another part of her.

For now however, she stayed quiet on the subject. Chastising this man would have no good results. The consequences of his words could be determined later.

She turned again, the slick blood allowing her to wheel about almost instantly. Somehow the rail thin girl managed to keep herself upright, and slowly she moved back towards the oak desk. She placed a hand on its edge. “What do you want?”

Again, no small talk.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Khal didn’t take a long time to study her, most of her wounds seemed to be… [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]superficial[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] and her lightweightness stemming from a deep-rooted fatigue and considering her almost skeletonic exterior she might have been starved to death too - not surprising considering her tutelage underneath one of the Hands of the Dark Lords… such a [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]barbaric[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px] woman that Vrag was.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Not that he asked about any of that, it was not his business nor his concern. With her not being in immediate danger of expiring before she could give him what he wanted? It would do just fine, though he supposed her wounds could be cleaned and binded up… wouldn’t do to keep ruining all the floors of his night club.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]ALthough… it does give a certain atmosphere.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“My in-house physician will take a look at your feet, patch ‘em up so you don’t bleed over everything that you walk, and in the meanwhile I will handle the logistics of this request.” the Underlord would simply get to the point. “In return for my help you will supply me with Titan-grade weaponry and armor.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Titan-grade.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]It was a profession of love towards the sheer audacity and quality that Alric Kuhn had brought to the galactic arms market, perhaps in some ways it was a peace offering for the quip that had been made just a few moments ago or perhaps he really did have respect for the late Kuhn.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Who knew with the Underlord. [/SIZE]

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

Simple enough.

“My Father had several warehouses across the galaxy.” She spoke plainly. “Most have either been reclaimed by Titan or the One Sith.”

That would be known by most people. Titan had split away from the One Sith, and in doing so there had been a small...war, though the confrontation had been quick and fizzled out almost immediately. Still, most of Titan's things either lay in the hand of Titan, or the One Sith.

Save for what Rose knew about. “However, my father was a careful man, and more than a few of those warehouses were kept secret. I happen to know where a few are located.”

She only knew because of her memory. Both her and Lily held near eidetic memories, and nearly seven years ago, when she had been a young girl, she had walked in on her father surveying a galactic map. Like any curious child she had questioned him about the map, and of course her father had obliged her with all the information she had wanted to know.

When she closed her eyes she could still picture that map.

"I'll give you the location of two of them." That would likely be more than enough to supply an army.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Rose Kuhn"]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]Straightforward.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“Acceptable.” the Underlord was not a big fan of [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px]bartering[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6666666666667px], two average warehouses would have enough gear stashed together to gear out an entire standing army and then some. More than enough equipment to fulfill a couple of standing orders that Khal was still drafting up… more than enough gear to finally stab a pick through the heart of that pesky syndicate in the Wild Space.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]“In the hallway a man will be waiting for you, he will bring you to the doctors. You may tell him what size you are and what kind of food you fancy, he will take care of both.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6666666666667px]With that the meeting was concluded and the Underlord looked back down to his datapad, to read the latest updates that were being forward to it.[/SIZE]

 

[Rose Kuhn]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

She turned, there was nothing more to say to the man, nothing more to negotiate. She had what she wanted. The warehouses meant nothing to her. Father may have hidden them, but they contained nothing she wanted, only weapons and things of that nature. There was nothing of sentimental value to them, nothing that Rose or Lily would want.

Though perhaps her sister would be angry at the loss of vendible equipment.

Rose shook her head.

Lily would understand. She would know why Rose had done what she had done here, she would understand. For now she would get herself some bandages and shoes, then eat something. It would take time to arrange travel, but she knew she was going home.

That was enough.