The Dead and Those Searching

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

They drifted through hyperspace with an almost immeasurable silence. To say that there was a bit of tension was an understatement.

It was odd really.

Val hadn't ever thought that something like this would happen to him. Sure he'd always been a wanderer, sure he'd even gotten in trouble because of it once or twice, but this...this was something else. A Sith Lord was after them, or perhaps they were after him. At this moment they still hadn't quite decided what to do with themselves, what to do with the token that this Count of Vjun so badly wanted. A part of him simply wanted to get it over with, a part of him simply wanted to go to this mans world and try his best to kill him, but he knew such a thing would be more than foolish.

The truth was they were outmatched.

Not only was the man a Sith Lord, but he had money, men, and a fortress.

He and Ryssa had...well they had a ship, some blasters he had taken off the men who'd tried to kill him, and that was it. Though not entirely. They also had perhaps the most valuable thing in all of this, they had the gauntlet. They had what the Sith Wanted, and that...that might be the only saving grace that they needed. Slowly Val wandered through the ship, pulling open the door to the cockpit.

"So." Val asked as he stepped up behind the pilots chair. "Where are we going?"

It was a good question, an important one.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

It was an important question, but one that Ryssa had pondered over while traveling in hyperspace. The coordinates that she had entered were for the Kathol Outback. It was as far off across the galaxy as one could get, but it was for a reason. It was as much of the last remnant of wild space as any. Not to mention the amount of smuggling that went back and forth.

Another reason was for a particular astroid mining base that would provride a bit of a resource hopefully on just what they were dealing with.

"Das'no w'ere." She said, staring out into the streaming lines of stars.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

"Bless you." Val said. "Now where are we going?"

Val was from the outer rim, but that didn't mean he knew every world and moon that was located in the Rim and beyond.

The galaxy was a very big place, and Val hadn't ever had the opportunity to study a starmap or anything similar. All his knowledge of the galaxy came from...well personal experience or things that other people had told him over the years. Back country knowledge, his adopted father would have called it. Sometimes it was more valuable than anything written down in a book, and sometimes...well sometimes it was completely wrong. Either way, it was clear Val had no idea what she was talking about.

Not his fault.

Perhaps he would have to take time one day and actually study a starmap, or maybe watch a holo-doc on some of the more common worlds people traveled to.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Yellow circlets went cycling to the manbun. He still had his hair all loose in waves and it framed his chiseled features well. Not fair for him to look that good still.

Figures.

A heavy sigh fell and her shoulders straightened. "It's a shadow port." She explained. One of the busiest to be exact. Also a great place to lay low while Ryssa thought things over.

"Just a place to lay low for a while. Give myself time to think. " maybe get lost... oh that would be too easy.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Ah.

The idea of laying low sat just fine with Val, but he knew that the longer they waited, the worse things would get. Val didn't like the idea of that. If they were going to disappear, then they needed to disappear and destroy the gauntlet.

No half measures.

"We have a few days." He commented. "That's it."

Perhaps he was giving the Sith a bit too much credit, but Val would rather caution on the safe side of things rather than anything else. The Sith was very much an unknown, and he really didn't really like sticking around in one place for too long, especially when they were still holding on to the very thing that was wanted by not one, but two fanatical cults he didn't fully understand. He frowned for a moment and then looked at Ryssa. "Can't stay too long."

They had no idea what was coming.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Ryssa shot to her feet, feeling the need to move around. He was pointing out the obvious but for Ryssa things weren't so simple.

"I know." She replied, moving past him in a sway of waist long blue hair, low rise pants, and black tank top. She opted for comfortable after taking a sonic to get the blood and grime off of her. She still felt a bit crawly feely thinking about Tionas.

"But I've a contact there. Might be able to help." Well I hope, she thought to herself as she brushed her hair away from her face.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

He frowned for a moment, but decided it was best not to say anything more. Ryssa was an adult, she made her own decisions. He doubted that things would work out the way she wanted them to, but then again he also doubted that things would work out the way that he wanted them to. Neither of them would get a happy ending, or so Val thought anyway, not with this. He frowned for a moment more then followed after her.

Perhaps he simply didn't know what else to do.

A part of him thought that maybe he was just lost, that this was all but a little distraction away from the greater problem that still haunted him. Another piece of him saw this as an opportunity, a way to...well finally see Aerith again. It was wrong to say that he had a death wish, but in a way it was also right. He didn't want to die, but he would have given his life for just one more second with the woman he loved.

The Sith could provide that.

In a way.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

Moving from the cockpit to the lounge had Ryssa's mind racing. Going back there reminded her that there were still a few things askew. Glancing around at the state of disarray, she gave a sigh. It was going to bother her if it wasn't cleaned up. It wasn't much of a mess as much she knew what had taken place here.

With a set of her jaw, the Changling turned to a nearby storage unit. Taking out a few cleaning supplies she set to work. Idle hands were the sort of state that drove her insane. Especially when she had things on her mind. Cleaning would or should help with that. Which is how Val would find her if he chose to investigate all the clatter; Ryssa on hands and knees cleaning the dark spots off her deck.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val heard the clatter, and did indeed investigate. His eyes wandered over Ryssa as she scrubbed the dried blood from the floor. He watched for a few moments in silence, not bringing any judgement or...well anything.

He thought it was perhaps cathartic for her.

There was no telling really unless he asked, but Val decided that ultimately it wasn’t worth it. He frowned for a moment and then simply wandered back to what was his bedroom, scooping up the datapad that she had earlier given him.

A little more research was in order.

At least until they reached this shadowport that she had talked about.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

They both kept to themselves, whether it be to mull things over or to research more material. In the end the Skygazer exited into realspace with a small flash of light. Das Kno' 'W'ere was a floating turd of an asteroid shadowport. Just floating along space with no real rhyme or reason. So many trafficked goods came by through here that it was a wonder what didn't pass through hands here.

In any event, it was also the location of Ryssa's contact. One of the few she could trust. Well, trust enough for them to not be asking too many questions.

[ Prepare for landing. ] Ryssa's voice went echoing throughout the ship. A shudder of the craft and it soared straight towards the shadowport.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val had spent the last few hours simply reading.

It was relaxing, almost enjoyable in fact. There was something about having a datapad in hand again that brought him a simplistic well being. It wasn’t the technology itself that made him happy, just the access to the wealth of knowledge that it provided. He had managed to read half a dozen books as well as a few lectures on the Ancient Sith.

It was all very interesting, but annoyingly not very relevant to what he and Ryssa were about to face. The Count wasn’t mentioned in any of the books, though there had been a brief few chapters on Vjun itself, mostly ancient history.

One of the novels had been specifically written on Moridin, a biography of sorts, but that itself held no real new information.

”Okay!” Val’s voice boomed throughout the ship.

He didn’t know how to use the intercom.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

It would be something that would have to be taught to Val if he were to ever communicate clearly through the ship. Granted, the way his voice blasted through the Skygazer was enough to make anyone start.

Ryssa flicked on a new transponder code. One had to cover their tracks here and to be honest, it was expected. There certainly weren't a shortages of mercenary or bounty hunter ships here. One had to be careful.

"Seriously this guy..." she muttered under her breath. Carefully navigating into the depths of the asteroid, the Changling searched for a place to dock. She found it near Viei tower. Which wasn't much of a tower as a three story building. Landing struts slid out and as she turned the ship, she set it down.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val shifted slightly as he felt the vessel buck and weave about, likely Ryssa maneuvering them through the asteroid field. His hand came up and grabbed the metal wall to steady himself, knowing that they’d likely move about more as they got closer.

His fingers sprawled, feeling a few more jolts, and then suddenly everything evened out.

The Viking felt one more heavy shake of the ship, signifying that they had likely touched down on some hangar floor. He smiled slightly and then rose, turning off the datapad and putting it softly on his pillow. He wasn’t sure when they’d return to the ship and he didn’t want to actually damage the thing if anything happened.

”Alright.” Val called out as he stepped into the hall.

”Where are we headed first?” He asked towards the cockpit. ”Seeing a Hutt?”

It was meant to be a joke.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

The whining down of the engines fell to a soft hum as Ryssa heard Val's heavy steps enter the cock pit. The Changling flashed him a brief glance of bright yellow eyes, turning back to the piloting console a second later to secure and lock the Skygazer down. She wasn't stupid enough to leave the ship without some assurances. Out here it could very well end up anyone might attempt to steal a ship or rob it if they felt the urge enough.

"No. No Hutt." she said, although she gave a slight grimace and a roll of her shoulder. " Kinda."

"Going to stop by the Collector." a rather silly title if you asked her but it served who they were stopping by well.

"Just going to ask a few things about Moridin, the gauntlet, and maybe whoever this Sith might be."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

”What an eccentric name.” Val said with amusement playing throughout his voice. People in the Outer Rim liked giving themselves names that to most would make...well absolutely no sense. They stylized themselves in one way or another. Val knew why, it gave them a certain allure, but...well that didn’t make it any less silly.

”Perhaps he’ll know more.” Val said. ”Though we’ll have to prepare either way.”

Not to mention they had to do everything...carefully. These were criminals after all, and if they found out that they had the gauntlet, well things likely wouldn’t turn out pretty. ”Perhaps ask about Vjun as well.”

”Not just the count I mean, but the planet.” There was always something hidden.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"That was a given." she told him, locking the ship down with one last quick key code entry. Rising from her seat in a mass of blue hair and tiny body, the Changling inched her way past the broadshouldered farmer. She side stepped to the side, soft bits ending up brushing against him for a fleeting second.

Yeah, trouble about big guys is that they take up literally all the space.

"He has a large repository." Ryssa added. The Collector enjoyed gathering as much information as he could. He used to travel Moross territory, Fringe, and even old Sith Empire. Always enjoyed gathering trinkets here and there, as well as any datafile that he could find. It tended to be a tit for a tat when it came to dealing information with him, but it was worth it.

"I just gotta figure out what to trade for him."

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

That made sense.

Val looked around for a few moments. He supposed a collector like that probably wouldn’t be very interested in a bunch of blasters that they’d taken off of the mercenaries, though perhaps there was someone else on this station that would buy them for some credits. He made a note to check on that later.

”Dunno.” He shrugged.

”I suppose we don’t want to threaten him.” Val said, assuring Ryssa that he wouldn’t be doing that. ”So really this is your world.”

Val wasn’t overly concerned about any of this, though in a weird way he was looking forward to seeing what this collector actually had to offer. He did like to see things that were new to him, and his curiosity was getting the better of him.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

So really this is your world?

Not quite.

"It's a shadowport." Ryssa explained, moving beyond to the storage panel again to gather her blaster and belt. She clipped it around her with a soft click. A cloak and a short cap completed the look. She couldn't use her visor for now. But she could go get it fixed in the mean time.

Collecting it she slipped the visor into a satchel. "More of an organic asteroid and mining facility turned shadow port. There ain't much that passes here that you can find elsewhere." a glance over at Val would linger.

"Just keep your things close and anything of value closer." there were thieves around as well as pick pockets.

"Ain't no law here save that which ensures the place doesn't get blown up." she didn't confirm nor deny his comment, but at least she did give him more information on the station.

 

[Valkyrien Aurelios]

[member="Ryssa Rourke"]

Val Shrugged.

It wasn’t like he had a lot of valuables in the first place, and what he did have he didn’t carry on him. Besides, anyone trying to rob him would very quickly find out that they had made a massive mistake.

”Lead the way.” Val told her.

They wandered off into the station rather quickly, Ryssa setting a faster pace than she would take even to normally keep up with him. Val didn’t complain though, following along beside her as they took the winding turns of the station. He realized pretty early on that most of the station was likely composed of mining tunnels, hence the odd lack of planning.

Weirdly enough he found the thought comforting.

”I once saved a place like this from pirates.” Val commented as they wandered through the station. ”About ten years ago.”

That had been a fun time.

 

[Ryssa Rourke]

[member="Valkyrien Aurelios"]

"You did what?" that caught Ryssa's attention. She'd been securing her hair back into a ponytail when Val had made the passing commentary. Her navy brows drew together in mild perplexity. That brought up the recall of the comment about living over a hundred years. Right.

"You saved a shadow port from pirates before?" ten years ago?? "Which one?" the galaxy was a large place and shadowports were a dime a dozen. Didn't mean that maybe she wouldn't recognize the name.

"Which pirates?"