The Sting of a Scorpion

[Myles Vylumnar]

Spoiler

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COMMENOR​

AN ABANDONED WAREHOUSE​

Myles Vylumnar​

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It was yet another arms deal. While, initially, he found such things to be too tedious to be worth putting effort in, Myles realized the potential fortune that gun-running could bring. It was amazing how many credits you could make just supplying toys to a few groups of organized degenerates. If you really thought about it, weapons were what fueled the galaxy and its fueds long throughout history. Gun-runners made a killing exploiting this simple fact.

Myles was one such gun-runner. Today, in particular, he'd set up a deal with one of the galaxy's lesser known crime-lords: Klit Orro. Or, better known as the Green Scorpion. At first thought, it sounded like such a silly name, but there were always reasons why people gave things titles. The obvious part was that he was green; common for many Rodians such as Klit. The 'Scorpion' part was really a mystery.

Myles sat alone in a dark warehouse somewhere on Commenor. His ship had been parked just outside. He had gained a reputation as a lone-wolf, although sometimes he was accompanied by his friend, Kaz. This deal was a particularly significant one, as they'd arranged a deal for a rather large shipment of explosives in exchange for around 25,000 credits. It was a rather peculiar request, but what his clients wanted were never in question for Myles. As long as there was money involved, he did his job.

After a short wait, his associate finally arrived. Klit entered the warehouse with his posse of armed thugs while Myles stood alone. It was rather contrasting from an outside point of view. A shimmer of light in the night sky shone through a hole in the ceiling like a spotlight on Myles. The others stepped out of the shadows.

"It is good that you have arrived, my friend. Do you have what we are here for?" asked the Rodian.

"Of course," he replied, hopping off of the crate he was sitting on and patting his hand on it. "Do you have what I'm here for?"

The Rodian crime-lord motioned for one of his lackeys to bring over the credits. Another gang member stepped forth carrying a briefcase. He opened it in front of Myles, revealing a shimmering stack of credits in the moonlight.

"Good. All yours."

Myles took the briefcase before turning around. He left Klit Orro with a stack of boxes, presumably filled to the brim with highly illegal explosives. As he walked toward the door, the sound of glass breaking and door hinges breaking pierced his ears.

"Freeze!"

Squads of security forces busted into the warehouse. How could they possibly have known? Was it a sting-op? No, it couldn't have been because just a few seconds later, Klit Orro yelled the command for his men to open fire. A firefight ensued with Myles trapped in the middle of it. It was almost surprising that such events transpired in a matter of seconds. Nevertheless, he figured that he'd take advantage of the situation before someone fired a shot into the crates of boom-booms. Clutching the briefcase in his arms, he made a run for it.

*ZAP!*

Myles collapsed to the floor as the briefcase skidded and slid out of his hands. A simmering wound sizzled from his back.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Good. He was out cold. The security officers that fired the shot, signalled ahead to [member="Darlyn Excron"] to inform him that he had [member="Myles Vylumnar"] in custody, though the situation was still hot. His fellow squad members had been tracking the gun-runner for weeks. And as the firefight raged on, they were about to capture more than one criminal today. That is if they all survived.

Myles was cuffed. One officer took the briefcase while the other grabbed Myles by the arm and pretty much dragged him out of the warehouse to one of the waiting transports. He needed medical attention. Fortunately there was now a full time Doctor at the Palace, so they could hit two birds with one stone. Darlyn was likely to be there, making sure of the Queen's safety. She'd need to know what was going on as well.

The driver was notified to leave as soon as the trio got inside. Within moments, they were on their way to the Palace.

Spoiler

You can jump into this thread too if you'd like, [member="Victor Tesla"]

 

[Myles Vylumnar]

It had been at least two years since Myles was last detained by an actual authority. It wasn't long ago since he was last detained by a bunch of slavers. Nonetheless, he was now being dragged into a transport which would probably take him someplace with prison bars and other criminals who had also been captured. Perhaps he'd find some way to get out of custody once again, like he had before. If he still had the 25,000 credits, he would probably be able to bail himself out. That probably wasn't going to happen.

Meanwhile, the firefight continued inside. One by one, forces continued to be struck by blaster bolts on both sides. Klit's forces were severely outnumbered and outgunned. As Myles was being dragged away, Klit became angered that he lost not only his money, but also the explosives he was intent on using to do some damage with. In a split second, a blaster bolt pierced his skull and fried his brain, sending his limp corpse thudding to the cold floor.

It didn't take long after that for Klit's remaining forces to be wiped out. The remaining survivors, albeit only three of them, surrendered.

[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Darlyn Excron"] | [member="Victor Tesla"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Doctor Tesla sat in his office, his feet kicked up on the desk in front of him as he let out a booming snore. Having taken the position as the Queen's personal physician there was, as could be expected, a lack of things to do. Though he had a personal lab for his own private research there was nothing that could be done until the area had been properly prepared and the rest of his staff was hired. Until than he had simply entertained himself by offering the palace guard check ups to make sure they were in pique physical condition.

A loud beep erupted from Tesla's terminal on his desk, forcing him from his dreams and pulling him back into the conscious realm. "Huh- What do you want? I'm busy." The aged Doctor adjusts his feet to tap on the comm system plugged into his terminal. "Sir. You have an incoming patient, accompanied by the Queen, she requests you prepare yourself."

Tesla exhaled out of his nose before deactivating the comm and using his feet to push back from the desk. The Doctor quickly grabbed his lab coat and made his way to the general admissions area of the medical wing. "Not like I have anything else to do." The Doctor made his way over to a nearby sink and began to scrub his hands clean of any bacteria. After pulling on set of latex gloves he let out a soft yawn before leaning back on a nearby wall. "Hopefully it's not a stupid one..."

[member="Lady Kay"] [member="Myles Vylumnar"]

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn sighed quietly, his hand running through his mess of hair as he made his way to [member="Lady Kay"] to alert her of the update. He never got to take part of the fun anymore, hunting someone down and bringing the long arm of the law down on them, or at least getting to hunt them down and beat them into submission. The downside to his role as the Head of Security tended to be just that, more often than not he was stuck at the palace keeping things running. Though it wasn't all unenjoyable, he did have a certain level of respect among the guardsmen, perhaps because of how casually he could beat any of them during practice sessions.

Today though wasn't going to be entirely uneventful, perhaps he could even enjoy himself somewhat. The thought made his lips curl ever so slightly, and he straightened his robes out. Still no uniform, he hated the things with an unrivaled passion. He made his way to the Queen's location, namely the fortunate walking into her among the hallways, and offered her a small bow. "My Queen, we have the gun-runner in custody now. He was injured during the operation and word has been sent to the good Doctor. Shall I prepare an escort, or will I be enough for your peace of mind?"

Of course he had no intention of allowing her to visit a criminal alone, though he'd been instructed to bring her to him at the earliest convenience. Another word in shortly after, only three survivors. Disappointing, criminals never did seem to learn when to surrender until the odds became astronomical did they?

[member="Victor Tesla"] [member="Myles Vylumnar"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay bowed her head to [member="Darlyn Excron"] as he met up with her in the hallway, walking along side her on their way to the medical wing. "You should be good enough. Apparently he's unconscious. But we'll see when we get there."

[member="Myles Vylumnar"] was taken into one of the operating rooms, just in case. Sure it was just blaster fire that burned him, but one never knows just what was in that warehouse that could have contaminated the wound. He was laid out on his belly as the wound was on his back, yet his wrists and feet were strapped down. He was a prisoner, afterall. Not one of her own staff.

[member="Victor Tesla"]

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Tesla had nearly fallen asleep when a full security team finally came into the operating area. As they moved so casually through his work area he simply gave them a blank stare, unentertained by the large number of people who had come into his medical wing. Once the prisoner was strapped down he looked to the Officer's with a rather annoyed glare. "Out." There seemed to be a moment of hesitation but even they knew that the Doctor was the one in charge of the medical area. "Get the hell out!" That was the final kick that forced the rest of the soldiers from the medical wing, through they remained nearby for security purposes they left Tesla to his work.

The Doctor exhaled softly before making his way over to the patient who had been bound to the operating table, gut first. "You must have really pissed them off..." He muttered before giving the man a few faint slaps to the back of his neck. "Wake up." His hands went to the man's neck to check the steadiness of his heartbeat.

After checking the man's pulse he looked to the charred wound that laced his back. Tesla could immediately tell that it was no where near fatal, may hurt like hell though. He produced a small set of scissors from the bottom of the bunk. Using these scissors to cut away the fabric that had been mostly burnt away he quickly was able to expose the man's bare back. "We'll clean and dress the wound and you'll be fine."

Tesla returned the scissors to the tray underneath the medical bed, taking a small set of tweezers in their place. He slowly began to pick out the pieces of shirt that had grafted to the man's burnt skin.

[member="Lady Kay"] [member="Darlyn Excron"] [member="Myles Vylumnar"]

 

[Myles Vylumnar]

Once his wound was finally cleaned, the young man returned to consciousness. To most that had seen his face, he'd probably seem rather young for his occupation. It took a few seconds before Myles regained himself. The blaster bolt which seared his back sent a shock through his body, and his head ached after it collided with the cold cement just moments before.

"Ugh... Kark..."

His eyes finally opened. Myles fidgeted around for a brief moment. As he slowly awoke, he felt that he'd been strapped down and was unable to move his head very well due to the position he was stuck in. His face stuck through a hole in the head of the medical bed, like he was getting a massage. Only much kinkier. The wound on Myles' back still stung, but luckily his padded leather jacket provided just enough protection so the blaster bolt wouldn't go straight through his chest. Myles groaned as he felt a cold hand at his neck and heard the doctor's words.

"D- Does it look bad, Doc? Will... Will I live?" he asked in a half-joking yet nervous tone.

"My prison sentence- I mean. I know where I am." he added on.

He tried his best to make some form of conversation. He tried to keep up his usual facade of some happy-go-lucky rogue, yet inside he feared what was coming to him. Usually in his line of work, the criminals were hard bastards and tough to the core. They didn't care about what happened to themselves if they got caught or killed. Myles, on the other hand, was just a man. Like the average Joe, he feared spending the rest of his life behind bars. Conversation helped ease the fear.

"H- Heh... Ow..."

He knew when he was in trouble. Usually, he could just find another way out. That's what he always did. Find another way out.

[member="Victor Tesla"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Darlyn Excron"]

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Of course. We've additionally received the surrender of three members of the Scorpion's gang. Shall we prepare them a spot in the mines?" He toyed with his lightsaber, gently flipping it around in his hand as he walked alongside her as they approached the infirmary. He had little doubt the man was already at work.. what was the new doctor's name again? Valient? Vincent? He had made a point to avoid taking any time for a 'check up', despite sending more than one guardsmen down to the infirmary by accident.

As he brought [member="Lady Kay"] into the infirmary setup by the good doctor, he glanced at the officers there. "Go on, it's been a long day. And you need a shower, Dallen." He patted one of them, passing him by. He managed to catch a glance at a plaque with the doctor's name on it. [member="Victor Tesla"]... he had the V right. Good enough for him.

He kept a respectable distance from him and the gunrunner [member="Myles Vylumnar"], crossing his arms as he watched calmly. "Oh that's a lovely shot... I'll have to give the shooter a bonus."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded to [member="Darlyn Excron"] in reference to the newly acquired prisoners. "Yes. I'm sure that our mines could use the extra pairs of hands and shovels. It's best that they learn how to make a living the proper way. You know the other option available to them if they decline our generous offer."

She stepped into the room, noting [member="Victor Tesla"] had gotten to work straight away, Good man. And he already had his new 'patient' awake and talking. "How is he, Doctor? Able to work off his debts to me like his accomplices that happened to survive?"

Kay didn't want to bother the doctor too much. Instead she headed over towards [member="Myles Vylumnar"] , being sure that he could see her. She folded her hands across her chest and lightly drummed her fingers on one of her arms. "What's your name, boy? And who are you to think that you are above the law, hmm?"

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Tesla had a distinct taste for quite a few things. One of the biggest? Chatty patients. As soon as the boy opened his mouth Tesla adjusted his glasses, showing a supreme look of distaste. "I said wake up, not talk. Unless you want me to slip and puncture your back with these tweezers I suggest you shut up." Though that outcome was severely unlikely the Doctor seemed to be in no mood for pleasant conversation.

The man listened to the boy prattle about a prison sentence. Though he had no hand in the boys fate he muttered a slightly reassuring statement. "If the Queen wanted you in a prison I'm sure you would not have been taken to see her personal Doctor, now shut-up." Tesla glanced up to see the duo that had entered the medical area. [member="Darlyn Excron"], who Tesla had not yet had the pleasure of meeting in person, though his name was commonly spoken through out the security staff. Head of her majesty's security team he was said to be a fairly capable man himself.

When Tesla heard the remark about the blaster shot to the boy's back he simply uttered a quick snort, his hands roughly rubbing over [member="Myles Vylumnar"] back. Once Tesla had removed all of the fabric that was burnt into the man's back he glanced up to [member="Lady Kay"]. "He'll be fine, I'm going to apply a bacta salve to his back and give him a few bandages. He'll need to stay off of his back for a few days but he'll live."

After setting the tweezers down Tesla turned from the group, making his way to a shelf that held the salve he needed.

 

[Myles Vylumnar]

Myles grumbled quietly to himself after the doctor made it clear he wasn't looking for a chat. Like always, he knew when it was best not to talk back. It wasn't worth the trouble, especially with someone who could have a fatal "accident" and no one would bat an eye. He kept his mouth shut. At least [member="Victor Tesla"] wasn't injecting him with an overdosage of whatever sedatives they used in these places. Myles had been treated worse.

He acknowledged the presence of another, [member="Darlyn Excron"], as he heard a man's voice. It wasn't long before [member="Lady Kay"] also made her presence apparent. Myles felt as if he was being watched. It was an uncomfortable feeling, especially since he couldn't see behind him very well. He heard the lady's voice say something about working off debts, which Myles wasn't too fond of.

Kay asked him what his name was. He considered for a very brief moment whether or not he should use yet another alias or even retort with a witty comeback. But, once again, he reminded himself that he was in a tough enough spot already. He didn't need more trouble. That, and he assumed they already knew who he was. How would they have busted their deal? It's not like Klit Orro was one of the galaxy's biggest hitters, and Myles was far from that either, but at least people kept multiple records of him. It was probably some sort of test to see if he'd lie or not.

"You know who I am, lady. Just let me pay off my bail and then some, and I'll be outta your hair." he said without looking up.

His bail was probably way higher than he could afford, and he knew it. He had to think of some way to get loose, but that probably wasn't it. He was just stalling.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn couldn't resist a small snort of amusement at [member="Myles Vylumnar"] when he mentioned bail. If it were up to him, bail would be a solid shackle around his ankle and a few years in the mines, or target practice, nothing the man strapped down would be all that up to. Not to mention his tone of voice, or at least his choice of words, made Darlyn's hands tighten a bit. His anger was becoming much harder to control lately, even if it was something he prided himself on being able to do. The man walked a thin line with every word he chose to speak to [member="Lady Kay"], and the Queen no doubt knew it to as his darkness struggled to contain itself.

Of course for her sake, and [member="Victor Tesla"]'s lab, he held it together. It would be poor taste if he outright destroyed the man's lab in frustration after only just meeting. There were better ways to relieve one''s frustrations, so Darlyn couldn't keep himself from commenting, "Have some respect. Were it not for our gracious Queen's kind heart, you'd be on your way to the mines already, with your blaster wound still burning. Do you really think it'd be so easy to break fair laws here?" The way he spoke held distaste, not for Myles despite being directed at him. It was almost obvious the man was a scapegoat unfortunately in his sights.

He had said what he needed to, and felt all the better for it. He wasn't likely to say much else for a while, at least to the criminal or the Queen. All he could really hope at this point was that his own words helped her along her plans.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded to [member="Victor Tesla"] 's assessment of the prisoner's wounds. No doubt the mines wouldn't help his injury either. So she'd have to put him on ice for a while, relatively speaking.

Her eyes dropped down to [member="Myles Vylumnar"] as he spoke of paying bail. Funny. He obviously didn't know the new Commenori laws, which weren't that much different from before. But still....No monetary payments were accepted to compensate crimes committed.

[member="Darlyn Excron"] gave some bit of an answer for her. She smirked a little at his comments about her being gracious. Not everyone deserved it though.

Especially those like this gunrunner. "There are no bailing outs here, boy. You will be working it off instead. Lucky for you, your injury will keep you out of the mines. For now. Or perhaps you are unlucky. I know of at least two individuals that could use another live volunteer for their experiments...." Time to test his tenacity and survival instincts.

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Tesla listened to [member="Darlyn Excron"] scold the boy as he found the salve he was looking for. It was an mostly-natural salve mixed with an older bacta solution. While it was not the fastest healing solution he had access to, it would be the most effective and have the best result in the end. The small white container had a blue sticker on the front that told the Doctor he would likely need to use a good coating for it to be effective.

Returning to the group he ran his hand over the boy's back, checking for any possibility of a wound he had not yet seen. Nothing

Using the back of his hand he adjusted his glasses, popping the seal off of the container. When he heard that it was a possibility that the Queen may allow the boy to be used for some sort of experiment or testing Tesla's uninterested voice broke silence once again. "Until he has made a full recovery he won't be doing anything." He dipped his hand into the salve, rubbing it together in both of his hands before beginning to coat it over his back.

Tesla was not a saint, he honestly did not care what [member="Myles Vylumnar"] fate was. Be it subjection to experimentation or even an execution. However, as a medical professional he could not allow harm or grievous activity to come to the boy until he had been cleared of his care. The coating was cool and would most likely soothe the man's pain, however after a few minutes there would be a soft sting as the medicinal herbs inside of the salve came into contact with his damaged skin.

As he continued to coat the boy's back his eyes connected with [member="Lady Kay"] for a moment. "Like I said. After a few days he'll make a full recovery, then you can throw his butt in a Sarlacc pit for all I care."

 

[Myles Vylumnar]

He didn't like where this was going. Sometimes you were just dealt a bad hand. In Myles' case it wasn't all bad from the start, or maybe it was. He didn't know how things could have turned out differently, if at all. His only real choice was to accept whatever was coming to him, and that was a rare occurrence with the young scoundrel.

"Uh... y-you know, the mines don't sound all that bad..."

His voice quivered slightly at the end of his sentence. Like [member="Darlyn Excron"], he felt a rage boiling within him, but he kept his cool. No point in causing more trouble where it wasn't needed. His stubbornness wasn't going to get the best of him today, at least not right now. So he kept up his upbeat self so they'd at least find some pity within him. Though, he appreciated the [member="Victor Tesla"]'s dedication to profession. It was obvious he didn't really care in the end but it was nice to know he would at least have time to heal. Meanwhile, it seemed that [member="Lady Kay"] had other intentions. It was clear that she was dead-set on using Myles for some sort of gain.

Hopefully she'd find some use for him that didn't involve too much pain. In fact, Myles was almost intrigued to learn what these people of Commenor had in store for him. Maybe they'd enlist his help to capture other wanted criminals, or maybe he'd just end up bashing rocks in the mines. Whatever awaited him, he'd be ready for it. He reminded himself every second that he'd endured much worse and that it was just better to get over with it rather than to just dread the pain.

In a way, he was excited to endure the pain which would test his resolve.

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn shook his head a bit, the man was either foolishly brave or a coward, depending on how you wanted to look at it. Either he was putting a face on, suggesting he was more than capable of handling anything they could deal, or afraid of the alternatives. Still, the gunrunner was somewhat fortunate. That he was able to smuggle weaponry past the officials at the docks spoke on some level to his capabilities. As much as he wished to bring the hammer down on the man, he had use. And useful tools were best left unbroken, or at least mostly unbroken.

This time however he remained completely silent, allowing [member="Lady Kay"] and [member="Myles Vylumnar"] to speak as [member="Victor Tesla"] did his work. There wasn't exactly much for him to do at the given moment, outside of watch the man strapped down intently. At this point he was caged in, cornered. And a cornered beast would fight all the more viciously for freedom, given the chance. And Darlyn was the one meant to prevent that.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay smirked as [member="Victor Tesla"] put his foot down with regards to his new patient. He basically told her that [member="Myles Vylumnar"] was off limits, and she knew better than to anger her personal doctor. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she needed him. Not so much for her physical health, but for her mental health as well.

[member="Darlyn Excron"] didn't seem to have much to say at the moment. It was as though he was waiting for something. Perhaps he was waiting for the boy to try to escape, yet so far that didn't appear to be happening.

Her eyes dropped back down to Myles while she spoke. "I'm sure that the good Doctor will see that you are comfortable while you're under his care. I'd advise you not to do anything that would change his mind. Your punishment will all depend on you. If you have value, it could be less. But if you prove to be an uncooperative guest, well, you can probably guess that your punishment will be quite severe. Do you understand?"

 

[ToKola Bakari]

Tesla was content to see that there would be no challenge regarding the boy's health. He was a firm believer that you can be the Emperor of the whole galaxy, but you would not do anything to harm one of his patients. After finally applying a generous amount of the salve to the boy's back the Doctor used his knuckle to make another quick adjustment to his glasses.

Damn I need to get these things tightened again... He thought as he turned from his restrained patient. Replacing the seal on the container he set it on the small medical tray beside him before moving to search the nearby shelves for a proper bandage.

After finding the bandages he set them on the same tray as the salve, bending down to speak to [member="Myles Vylumnar"]. "Listen carefully kid." His hand fled into his lab coat, producing a metallic four inch syringe. The syringe was tipped with a rather large needle that looked as if it was made to puncture a wookie's pelt. He held the needle in front of the boy as he spoke. "This is Somatoll. It's a really powerful sedative. I'm going to let you go so I can put your bandages on. If you do, say, or even think anything I don't like, I'll jam this into your chest and pump a full dose into your heart. That will slow your heart so much you'll start to die immediately, but you won't actually die for about four days. You get me?"

Flashing the boy an oddly good-natured smile he returned the syringe to his coat's pocket, glancing up to [member="Darlyn Excron"] with a rather irritated tone. "Mind taking off the restraints?" The Doctor did not wait for a reply as he began to unravel the bandaging. He glanced over to [member="Lady Kay"] with a slightly curious tone. "What did he do anyway?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay clenched her jaw, her body tensing a little at the sight of the needle. She hated needles. Hated them with a passion. Somatoll was something that she had been injected with before, by Thraxis. It was awful stuff.

She gave [member="Darlyn Excron"] a nod, indicating that it was okay for him to remove the restraints from [member="Myles Vylumnar"] so that he could sit up. Her eyes then turned to [member="Victor Tesla"] . "He's a gunrunner. His little illegal business deal with his associates didn't go the way that he planned. People don't get away with breaking Commenori law. The other survivors will begin to understand that in time, just like he will."

Of course she had plenty of questions for the boy. No doubt they'd be answered soon.