Private The Voice of the Broken

[Darth Ventrix]

Why couldn't they leave her alone? Maybe it was the outfit; all black and form fitting. Some men have a thing for the 'bad girls' and Ventrix didn't exactly look the part of an angelic being. In fact many parts of her were robotic, replacements that helped to keep her 'alive'. Her old body was torn apart, having suffered being just outside of the blast radius of a bomb that blew up her tea shoppe.

And now here she was, walking with deadly purpose down a street, dragging a semi-conscious body behind her by the scruff of his jacket. That body was beaten to a pulp, with bruises, swelling and scratches on his face. A crimson lightsaber was held in other other hand, the tip barely missing the ground underneath while she walked. The blade was only raised as she deflected blaster bolts that came at her.

There were others nearby, but their numbers started to dwindle. Some were innocent bystanders that hightailed it and ran. Others were members of the little gang that attacked her, who's second in command she was dragging behind her. Those were the ones firing upon her, and it was them that she herself was targetting.

Finally Ventrix stopped once she had arrived at the fork in the street. She lifted up the body in front of her, bringing her lightsaber up to his throat, and then began to call out to her attackers; "COME OUT! COME OUT! WHEREVER YOU ARE! YOU WANTED MY ATTENTION, DIDN'T YOU? WELL HERE IT IS! DON'T BE SHY! I'M RIGHT HERE WAITING! AND SO'S YOUR NUMBER TWO HERE! THE LONGER THAT YOU HAVE ME WAIT, THE LESS CHANCE HE HAS TO LIVE! THE BALL'S IN YOUR COURT NOW!"


Ghorua the Shark

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua rarely intervened when it came to gang-related affairs.

In his humble opinion, if you committed crimes for personal gain, you signed up for all the terrible things that come with committing crimes for personal gain. That included such lovely events as gang warfare, capture by law enforcement, and running headfirst into a lightsaber.

It was impossible to miss. People were running away in droves, and the sound of blaster fire could be heard in the distance. Ghorua would have chocked it up to more gang violence, had he not overheard something about a lightsaber.

Never a dull moment.

As Darth Ventrix continued to threaten the man in her grasp, four small probe droids descended on the alleyway. Each one was nearly invisible to the naked eye, thanks to their reflec coating and dark, compact frames. They took note of the area, a path Ghorua could take that wasn't swarming with gang members, and the woman standing alone against them. It appeared to him that she had the upper hand, too. That's how it went with Forcies, Ghorua noted. Coming at them unprepared was a death sentence.

But why does that voice sound so familiar?

One of the probe droids attempted to swing around, to get a better view of the face of the lightsaber wielder.

It almost sounded like...

No. There's no way.

 

[Darth Ventrix]

Ventrix didn't have much patience anymore. And what little she had was drawing thin. Her lightsaber didn't do much for her but illuminate the face of her victim. She had a different way of killing him that gave her a lot more satisfaction.

In an almost gentle manner, moreso because her effort was slow, Ventrix wrapped the man's heart with the energies of the Force and began to squeeze. It was similar to the Force Choke and equally as aggressive, however this time she moved at a slower speed.

Her victim's eyes began to widen as he felt the constriction of his heart. His jaw dropped as his breath was almost caught in his lungs. His heart beat harder and faster as it tried to push away the invisible Force that was gripping it until it burst. The heart popped like a blood filled balloon inside of his chest, his muscles tensed briefly before he was nothing but dead weight in her hand.

Ventrix threw him away as though she was disgarding trash, for he really wasn't anything more than that. Blaster bolts cut through the air once again, and with quick flicks of her wrist, she swung her lightsaber's blade to meet and deflect every single one of them.

She was far too distracted to notice the tiny probe droids, as well as the Herglic Ghorua the Shark that were watching a safe distance away.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

No.

As Darth Ventrix constricted the heart of her opponent, she may feel a change in the Force. Like something wild, constrained but untamed, was approaching. Perhaps it would be familiar. Perhaps not.

No way.

As she tossed aside her victim like a bag of uncooked meat, there would be the slightest of movements as the probe droids fell back, beckoned to the heel of their master.

This is a trick. An illusion. A clone. Wishful thinking. Something.

Finally, as she deflected the criminals' blaster bolts like swatting oh so many flies, a shape appeared at the end of the street. Ten-and-a-half feet tall, armor glossy with the waning lights of the streetlamps nearby. No weapons on hand, but plenty within arm's reach. The helmet was on, but the voice changer was disengaged, betraying the goliath's true voice; Deep, smooth, and cocksure, despite overwhelming worry coursing beneath it all.

"Whatever these less-than-desirable people may have done, I doubt it demands wanton slaughter."

Would she recognize him? Would she attack him? Was it even her? All of these thoughts coursed through Ghorua's mind as he revealed himself, and took stock of what was before him. It could be anything, so he had to be prepared for anything.

He didn't survive twenty-odd years in his line of work by being careless, after all.

 

[Darth Ventrix]

There it was. A presence in the Force trickled through her anger. It was strange at first, but then it became somehow familiar. And that was enough to give her pause.

As Ghorua the Shark entered the area, it was as though some game reset for the next level. Everything else stopped. The blaster bolts ceased, any remaining onlookers or hostiles went silence. The Herglic easily dwarfed Ventrix and yet she held her ground. Only the hum of her lightsaber was heard until the shark spoke.

"Slaughter?! They attacked me. I am defending myself which I have every right to do! They are the destroyers, not me!" Something tugged at her, something of memories lost in a firey haze. Ventrix hid her puzzlement, glad that he couldn't see her eyes, just as she couldn't see his.

"You can leave now. Unless you wish to join them...." Her lips curled into a defiant sneer. The bigger they are, the harder they fall, right? Perhaps it was time to see how much of that was true.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua let his head lazily tilt down, pointedly looking at the man at Darth Ventrix's feet.

"Yeah," he drawled. "Sure looks like self-defense."

He'd had his heart squeezed by a Forcie before. It wasn't a pleasant experience, and certainly went beyond protecting oneself. It required concentration, concentration that could only be gathered if one was entirely unthreatened by their opponent.

More importantly, it was entirely un-Lady-like.

Ghorua noted the subtlest shifts in the woman's movements, that mirrored her words. She was ready for a fight, and highly gifted and well-trained in the Force. That meant she probably wasn't a clone. Which left two options. Some powerful changeling of some kind, or brainwashing.

The latter had happened to his friend before, so he was inclined to go with that.

Ghorua didn't get into a combat pose, as he probably should've. Instead, he spoke again, trying to project sympathy. "Every time I lay low, something happens to you. What have you gotten yourself into now, Kay?"

He said it with such conviction, as if he was sure it was his old friend.

 

[Darth Ventrix]

Ghorua the Shark was just jealous. Here she had taken care of a problem without firing a gun. Sure she killed one man with the aid of the Force, but the rest were probably snubbed out by the reflected blaster bolts.

Still he didn't show any signs of preparing to fight. Instead he seemed almost....casual.

Ventrix squinted her eyes from behind her visor, almost as though she could try to see through his own helmet to get a better sense of what he could be hiding.

And then he spoke her name. Of course she knew it to be hers. Her adopted Father and rescuer always called her by it. Yet her memories of her own past were muddled. All that she could remember was pain and torment caused by many individuals that only longed to make her suffer.

"This is not my fault! I didn't ask for them to attack me! Your judgement of me means little. I don't know who you are or how you know my name, but I don't answer to you!"

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua's brow furrowed with thought under his helmet. She knew her name? She didn't seem to remember him, though. Memory loss, then. That didn't rule out mental manipulation, but the fact that she remembered her own name meant her identity wasn't ripped from her by another. That meant... It was Kay.

Ghorua wasn't sure what to think of that, as he stared down Darth Ventrix. Was he supposed to be elated that his oldest friend was alive after all, or grieving her pacifistic ways, and the lost memories?

He decided to work through that particular maelstrom of emotion while he wasn't in mortal danger. When she held back, Kay could keep up with him. Unleashed like this, Ghorua had no idea how far she might be surpassing him.

Her words, shot back at the Shark, were defiant. Despite his conflicted feelings, Ghorua considered the words, and smiled a little. "Sorry," he said, conceding the point. "I don't have the right to judge you, with all I've done. And I also don't know what they did. Maybe they deserve every last torture you can administer to them."

Still he couldn't stop thinking about his constant talks with Kay. How she abhorred violence of this sort. It was difficult for him to lay aside, at least for the moment. "But they're not a threat to you anymore. Trust me, if they become a threat again, I swear I'll tear them apart limb-by-limb myself."

There were so many questions the Herglic wanted to ask, questions that burned his insides every second he kept them contained. But he couldn't ask them yet.

Instead, he slowly removed his helmet, and hung it at his waste. His face was round, with a wide mouth, pursed with intense concern. His eyes were dark and calculating, but shined with unreleased tears.

"I don't want to fight you, Kay. I just want to talk."

Please don't attack me, please don't attack me...

 

[Darth Ventrix]

Ghorua the Shark didn't engage her. In fact he did merely the opposite. It was clear that he didn't agree with her punishment to her attackers. However he wasn't chastising her for it either. Not only that but he also seemed to promise to enact revenge for her.

That was....unexpected.


As he reached for his helmet, Ventrix had at first thought that he was reaching for a weapon. She rotated her wrist to draw her lightsaber up defensively. Yet there was no weapon drawn. Instead there was merely his face revealed.

That face....

Ventrix stared in silence for several seconds. And when she spoke her voice was distant. "I know your face...." But she couldn't figure out how.

The blade of her lightsaber retreated into itself as it was shut off. And now she too, had disengaged from the potential fight. "Who are you?....Who told you my name? Who do you work for?" He had to be some kind of hunter hired to seek her out. There could be no other explanation that she could figure out.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Well, it looked like she wasn't going to murder him on the spot anymore. That was an improvement.

Still, the whole situation was a little unnerving, despite narrowly avoiding conflict with his oldest friend. She recognized him, albeit vaguely. What did he do next? How did he approach talking with her about him, or her past? Did he plan it out, or just go off the cuff?

Smart, or genuine?

Ghorua's posture relaxed slightly as the lazer-sword deactivated, and his puckered lips smoothed. His hands relaxed away from the tools on his belt, but the trained eye would see the movements were refined with practice, and if he needed his weapons again, they would be with him at a moment's notice. The armor, the tools, the confidence, he certainly had 'bounty hunter' written all over him.

Still, he tried his best to be non-threatening. His tone was thoughtful, and laced with the sorrow of lost years between them. "I have my own questions, and I'll answer all of yours too, but I don't think this is the right place for swapping stories." His eyes darted to the shadows. "We don't want our friends with blasters getting any bright ideas."

Ghorua performed his classic sly smirk, looking as if he thought of a joke in his head

"You still like tea?"

- Darth Ventrix -

 

[Darth Ventrix]

Ghorua the Shark was being nice to her. That was something that only her rescuer Morcus had done. Of course for a while she hadn't seen anybody but him, while she had recovered and was able to control this new body, which had taken weeks.

Everyone else that she had encountered chose to attack her, as though they had sensed a weakness within her and figured it would make her easily beaten. Or maybe it was just her outfit that drew their attention. Regardless she was more than capable of showing them how 'weak' she was.

The very idea of leaving the street seemed like a good one. One could get lost in a conversation or give away intel that enemies had sought. So she was in agreement that they should depart for somewhere else.

"Tea? I longed for tea for some times, but I don't have it as often as I think that I used to..." A lot of her organs were artificial, so she had to be really careful with what went into her body, especially when it came to solid foods.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

The tea shoppe was a short walk away.

Ghorua made sure they weren't followed as they changed locations. He took a few weird turns, and deployed his probe droids behind the two of them to spot any tails. So far, they weren't accosted, but Ghorua would keep them on high alert in case these people kept their deathwish.

Ghorua was silent as they walked, but his mind was deafeningly loud. He had so many thoughts, so many questions, so many things to say, but he couldn't. Not without overwhelming Kay, who remembered very little about him. Vague notions of his voice, his face. He still needed to gain her trust back, and formulate his words so that they didn't come out in an uncurated jumble.

Ghorua stepped inside the shop, waiting for Kay at the doorway, and chose a table with accommodations for one of his size. He looked at the menu, scanning through the options.

"Where should I begin?" Ghorua flicked his eyes up from his menu. He figured it was only fair she asked the first question.

- Darth Ventrix -

 

[Darth Ventrix]

Ventrix followed Ghorua the Shark through the streets, with no fear in her poise. Her lightsaber was clipped to her back while tendrils of the Force swarmed around her, ready to take on sudden attacks. She wasn't worried about the shark so much as others around them.

To find out that he literally meant that they were going to drink tea came as a bit of a surprise, for she thought that it could have been some kind of metaphor. Afterall only one person had been kind to her, from what she could remember.

But there was much that she was missing. She could feel it inside. Memories of her past were either fuzzy or just gone completely. Yet there was very little hope of understanding it. She had accepted the losses, and fed off the guilt and pain over it all. It made life....easier.

She sat down at the table, not really looking at the menu. Instead she studied the shark intently. "Who are you and who do you work for? I think that you should start there."

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

The two of them were getting tea, like they had done dozens of times in the past. It was a strange sort of familiar. Familiar because of the feeling of squeezing into a seat and holding a comically-small cup as they held their meeting. Familiar because of the vast quantity of spiced scents on the air, and the sounds of bubbling water behind the counter as other patrons' drinks steeped. It was strange because of... everything else.

When Darth Ventrix asked him who he was, in her voice, it hurt a little.

Ghorua tried not to let it show on his face, as he responded, putting down his menu. "My name is Ghorua. I'm a bounty hunter, but I'm currently self-employed." It was all the truth. He was more advisory than out-in-the-weeds these days. It was exhausting.

"I was in town looking for information for a client of mine. I didn't expect to run into you." The Shark grinned, sharp teeth now becoming apparent. "I suppose that's 'the will of the Force' or whatever."

"We met decades ago." Ghorua shook his head. Decades, snatched away by lost memory. "I turned you in for a bounty, we went on a few death-defying adventures, and then we occasionally met and sipped tea."

"Any of this sound familiar to you?"

 

[Darth Ventrix]

Ghorua the Shark couldn't see it from behind her mask, yet her eyes were closed while he spoke. For some reason she was having the urge to hug him as though it was some normal thing, yet she wasn't sure if that even was normal.

Ventrix had been left to her own devices after her rescue, and so she had been prodding along going wherever her whims decided that she should go. More often than not it delt with chasing after assailants that had attacked her, just as she was doing when the Shark had encountered her.

The will of the Force....

In her mind the Force was cruel and brought her nothing but grief and pain. So what did she do but use it to inflict pain on those that deserved it. Eye for an eye and all of that.

"You seem familiar....I can feel it. Most of my memories from before the explosion are missing. They aren't gone just merely....out of reach, like a dream that disappears upon waking." If that even made any sense, she wasn't sure. But she hoped so.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Maybe it isn't all lost.

Maybe it's just misplaced.

The Shark mulled over what Darth Ventrix said, reconciling it with what he had heard. The explosion, he knew about. But Ghorua had long ago discounted any rumors of the Lady's death as over-exaggeration and hearsay, so he always knew, deep down, she was alive. He just figured it was a cover-up, or she had gone into a deeper layer of hiding.

But no, she was more lost than that. Maybe there was a chance she could be found again.

Ghorua ran a hand along his jawline, deep in thought. "Alright. So, something put your memories on the top shelf of your mind," he mused. "If they're out of reach, we'll just have to extend your arms. Metaphorically."

How Ghorua could help his old friend do that, he had absolutely no idea. And if she knew, she likely would have done it already.

"What do you remember?" Ghorua studied the mask covering Kay's face, as if her emotions were plain to see on the unmoving surface. "What's happened since the blast? How are you even alive?"

 

[Darth Ventrix]

From the way that Ghorua the Shark seemed insistant on helping her, it made her wonder if they were more than just acquaintances. Were they lovers? That could explain her urges to hug him and hold him. But then again it could all just be in her imagination and just another side effect from the trauma that she went through.

She leaned back in her chair, propping her feet up on an adjacent chair as she mulled over his questions. "I remember seeing ash falling like snow as I lay in the grass. But it might of been snow too as I had suddenly felt cold. I closed my eyes and then there was....nothing." A lump formed in her throat as she recalled her death, or near death experience. There was nothing but guilt, grief and loneliness that awaited her. There was no 'becoming one with the Force', no one to greet her on the other side at all.

"Baron Morcus found me and rescued me. I woke up in a medical facility with him there beside me. His staff repaired what they could, replacing those that they could not. I had to learn to walk again, among other things. Some parts are missing, however, like my memories. It's a strange thing, but I've learned to live with it."

And now she voiced an earlier thought. "Were we lovers in my past life?"

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua searched Kay's eyes as she searched her memories, as if he were trying to peer over her shoulder at her thoughts. The first part matched up with what he already knew. An explosion.

She mentioned the Baron, and Ghorua nodded, the pieces putting themselves together. They had spoken about the Sith Nobleman before. Ghorua knew the man only from reputation, but that reputation was mostly positive. One of the good Sith. At least, not the marauding type. He knew the man and Kay were acquainted. Perhaps her loss of memory wasn't malicious after all. Maybe it was just the price to pay for an extra life.

Ghorua was lost in thinking what those first few days must have been like. No memories to tie her down, pieces of her past self replaced by machine, with only anger and unanswered questions left to keep her company. He was so lost in thought that it took a moment for her last sentence to register with him.

He was glad he hadn't ordered tea yet. He would have spat it out.

Ghorua made a strange choking, laughing sound, and softly pounded a fist on the table. The sound turned to pure laughter after the original shock, full and hearty. Tea-sippers around the pair turned with questioning gazes, but he didn't care.

"No, no," the Shark said, with a melancholic sort of mirth. "We weren't that kind of friends."

He tried to think of the best way to describe it, looking up to the ceiling for answers. "I was alone in the galaxy for a long time. I had bounty partners, of course, and people I did business with, but for the most part, I was left to my own devices."

He looked down at Kay, the sides of his eyes crinkling with his smile. "No one believed in me. No one saw me for who I could be. Until you came along and gave me a second chance."

"You were the first person to have faith in me. So now, I have faith in you. No matter what."

- Darth Ventrix -

 

[Darth Ventrix]

Apparently she had made a joke, for Ghorua the Shark burst out in laughter. Or maybe what she had said was so bizarre that it was laughable. She wasn't quite sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

The other patrons were ignored by Ventrix, her attention solely being on the shark in front of her. She folded her arms across her chest as she listened to him further. From what he was describing, it sounded as though they might of been close friends.

Or, it was some kind of ploy. But what purpose would that serve?

"Faith in me for what? Do you have some job or task that you want me to complete? I'm no stranger to such things these days." It was all that she did to get by. Once Morcus had left her on her own she was at a loss as to her purpose. Perhaps all that Morcus wanted was just to have her alive. Yet beyond that? Well Sith weren't considered heartless for nothing. Even her own heart was damaged just as the rest of her body and her mind was.

Pieces were missing or gone, and some of those pieces couldn't be replaced with machines. At least that was how she felt.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

She was cautious. Careful. Scrutinizing what he said, looking for anything that would tell her he was being dishonest. He didn't blame her. He couldn't imagine how he would react if he were in her shoes. Some strange whale-man in full armor approaches you during a firefight, invites you to tea, and says he knows you from a previous life. Ghorua couldn't blame her for being reserved.

Still, he had hoped for a different response. More memories flooding back.

Oh well.

Ghorua shook his head. This would be even harder than he thought it would be. "No, I'm not going to hire you for a job. Unless you really want to join my merry band of bounty hunters." He paused a moment to think on that. He'd said it facetiously, but the idea made a little bit of sense when he said it out loud. He would have to think about that.

"I didn't mean faith in your abilities, although I have plenty of that in you as well. I meant faith in you. Your character." Ghorua cradled his chin with a finger. "I don't know what you've been through, how much of you is new, how much is still there. But I do know that I trust Lady Kay. No matter what."

"And I'll help you however I can. I owe you that much."

- Darth Ventrix -