Things In The Night

[Vrak Nashar]

Coruscant
[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

Vrak let out a curse.

"What do you mean, the Senator is dead?" He stared at the servant that brought him the news, the woman fidgeting slightly beneath his gaze as she tried to keep from being killed. His rage was palpable, hanging in the air by thin thread that was threatened to be cut loose at any moment. The Servant looked down at her feet, trying at all costs not to meet Vrak's gaze. "LOOK AT ME!"

"He was killed my Lord."

His teeth gnashed. "Yes, that much is obvious but by who?"

The question came with a hard crunch of his boot against the servants knee. The woman fell to the ground with a hard thud, collapsing into herself and falling to the ground. She whimpered quietly, her eyes slowly looking up at Vrak.

There was no pity in the Pureblood, not now. He had been planning this for months, he had needed that Senator. The man held no power within the Alliance, but he had significant influence with those who ran The Works. Manufacturers, street gangs, a dozen other organizations that Vrak needed on his side in order to get what he wanted, and now? Now it was all in shambles. Someone had taken his opportunity and torn it out from beneath him.

"I-I-No one knows my lord. It was an Assassin, a woman the Servants said. Coruscant Security has locked down the planet."

He let out another curse.

An assassin? Who would have the skill to kill a Senator protected by the Alliance themselves? He frowned slightly and cast his gaze away from the servant, eyes falling on the window that displayed all of Coruscant. "Find the assassin."

He scowled.

"Before Coresec does." The Servant whimpered, then slowly dragged herself away to inform the others.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The Twi'lek scoffed, watching high from the building adjacent to the scene of the murder. Pathetic. Coresec had begun their formal investigation of the scene, however they would find nothing. Their inept investigators and crime scene analyzers would learn only that his miserable existence was cut short by a lightsaber burning through his chest, scorching his heart, and ending the beat that set the rhythm to his meager body. A worthless man to her, save for the joy she harvested from seeing his chocolate irises fade from the light, rolling back into his skull as the last breath was extinguished. Why he had to die was of no concern to her. She had a job to do. She did it. It was that simple. Life was that simple.

People had to die. That was the way of the galaxy. Anyone who got in her way on that path? Well, sometimes jobs were messier than they were meant to be.

Fortunately for others, nobody had bared witness to the death of the impish man. For all of his groveling, she heard only static as her blade ignited, pushing through skin, bone, and organ in a single thrust.

The lekku hanging behind her back curled slowly around her neck to rest. Her hood pulled over to obscure her form as the rain pattered against it. A single sneer towards the window and she turned, allowing herself to fall the fifteen or so feet to the duracrete sidewalk below, meandering her way back towards the starport.

Mission accomplished. Those were the only two words uttered into the comm, sent back through unknown channels to the mysterious client beyond the clouds.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

"We have agents at the starports my Lord, we believe this is the most likely place for the Assassin to appear."

He frowned for a moment. Coruscant was difficult for him to move around on. Purebloods were something of an oddity within the galaxy. A mask helped with that, but it didn't exactly give him the resources that he needed in order to actually track down this assassin. He shifted his gaze towards another one of his Servants. "Send some of the thugs we have on loan there."

While here he'd partnered with a local crime Syndicate.

"Watch the soldiers." He told the Servants. "They will find the Assassin for us."

It was better than any method they currently had. "Alert me the moment something suspicious happens."

He frowned for a few more seconds and then slowly turned around. He grabbed the saber-staff from it's place on the mantle and tucked the mask on the desk over his face, pulling the hood of his cloak over it's glowing red eyes.

His guess was that the assassin would try to head off world, the easiest way of doing that? The nearest criminal starport of course.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Where was she headed? Well. This particular Twi'lek had an abundance of funds. She had owned two companies, sold the entirety of one to a wealthy business partner before her mysterious disappearance as a Jedi quite some years ago. She owned a fancy yacht that she now worked her jobs out of. No armaments, hardly imposing, incredibly unsuspecting. She looked like the incredibly wealthy person she was. However, the armor she wore to obscure that incredibly wealthy form made her look a bit less than friendly. A small dock that housed a pair of starships was where she had landed, a ways away from one of the major starports of Coruscant. It was one she typically used. The man was discreet, took her credits without complaint, and never needed to perform manifest or cargo hold checks.

Perfect for her lines of work.

Her modified lightsabers had long since been stripped of the Solari crystal that had labeled her Jedi in the past. Stripped away by Kaine and his servants to better suit the need of an assassin. Tucked away beneath her cloak she ensured the majority of her form remained entirely obscured, save for the knuckles and fingertips of her hands, her feet, and the tiniest portion of her forest green eyes.

Everyone here looked suspicious. Everyone looked like thugs. Everyone was a thug. You didn't visit the slums of Coruscant, shady starports, and run down alleyways because you could afford to walk elsewhere. There was always a reason you walked where you walked.

She had just murdered a government official, and was prepping the train to leave.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

Vrak moved across the rooftops, or rather, the higher catwalks within the slums. His feet quickly pounded against the metallic grating over and over again as he cut through The Works. A crowd filtered down below him, some moving towards the starport and others away from it. In the distance he could already make out the tiny blips of starships coming in and out of the industrial sector. He frowned slightly as she came to a stop, the catwalks ending and opening up to a large courtyard.

His eyes slowly wandered across the open space.

There were dozens, if not hundreds of people, and all of them looked equally suspicious. None of them wore normal clothing, most donning robes or armor of some sort. Bounty Hunters, Slicers, thugs of all sorts moved in and out of here. "Kark."

He cursed quietly, his hand pressing against the side of his mask.

"Anything?' Vrak asked over the radio as he spotted a group of Alliance Troopers wandering towards the entrance of the starport. They each had heavy blaster rifles, dressed in some kind of white armor. He frowned for a moment and watched them set up a perimeter around the entrance of the Port itself, beginning to screen each person that walked through the doors.

"Nothing, my Lord. The Alliance have begun to set up perimeters around all Starports however."

Vrak nodded to himself, frowning as she scanned the crowd for anyone trying to avoid the Guards.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

She'd been in the game long enough. Guards were always a nuisance. Sometimes you could avoid them. Other times they had to be dispatched before you could get where you wanted to go. Unfortunately Coruscant now belonged to the wretched Alliance, and their security was tight. If she killed the lot of them she might escape the atmosphere in time, but her ship had no armaments. That would be a problem in the event of a chase. That meant she would have to work another angle this time.

The woman continued walking past the small dock that had been molested by the presence of such abhorrent beings. A small huff escaped as the rain continued to beat down overhead. Reaching into the crook of her armor the girl felt for the small device she had brought along with her. Crude as it were, it was an easy distraction. One that would likely kill at least a few people when it went off, injuring more, but that was the cost of their uninvited presence preventing her quick and hasty exit. "H4, prep the ship. Fire the engines when you hear the bang." This would need to be a quick exit.

The Twi'lek pressed the activator button, dropping it with a slight toss backwards as she walked. The device would explode just a few feet from the main entrance. In the commotion that would likely ensue in just a mere three seconds, the woman would take the opportunity to leap over the large barbed wire gate that surrounded the entrance.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

The explosion caught almost everyone's attention instantly.

There was a loud bang, then a flash of light an eruption. The clatter of debris immediately rang out within the courtyard. Everyone ran away, either dashing away from the starport entrance or towards it, the Alliance Troopers broke for the explosion. Vrak scowled slightly as he watched, his eyes searching the crowd as he looked through the mass of bodies to search for anyone that wa-

A figure moved not towards the spaceport, not towards the exit, but to the side.

The slim silhouette stood out within the crowd, at least from above. Instead of rushing forward or running it moved at a calm, controlled pace. Half a dozen steps and it moved towards the larger fence that kept the starport separated from the trash of the slums. He watched in silence as the figure quickly darted up and over the fence, moving with impossible grace. He frowned for a moment. Was it the assassin? There was no telling really. The idea was a bit of a stretch, and just a bit too convenient, but ti was the only lead he had.

"Distract the Alliance in sector 34a." Vrak called over the radio as he bounded onto the next building over.

He didn't want the Alliance scooping up the Assassin before he had a chance to do the same.

The Pureblood moved quickly, rushing over the top of the building and bounding over the fence within just a few heartbeats, trailing directly behind the figure.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The Twi'lek sneered. She could smell, sense someone inconveniently trailing her. It wasn't alliance. Too fickle. Too dark. Still, it would have to wait until she neared the ship. She was fast, limber, flexible. Her lithe body was built for this type of activity. Endurance and sprint running. Weaving between bodies and crowds, bounding over crates, tables, fences and the like. She was a natural gymnast. This was child's play. She was curious however, what kind of fool would decide to chase her in the moment? It wasn't a Jedi. She could feel their wretched stench from miles away. It wasn't the troopers. They were well enough engrossed in the little fiasco she had just left behind.

"Big mistake." She muttered, allowing the words to carry back behind her. Rather than turn the corner and waste precious time adjusting her speed she simply leaped forward towards the open corridor, bounding her left leg off the wall and continued at break neck speed down the corridor. The landing pad sign up ahead was all she needed to see. "H4, is that ship in the air!?" She barked through the comm. "Yes, Master. Awaiting your arrival." The Twi'lek sneered, "Lower the ramp, fifteen feet distance. Be ready."

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

He heard the voice, just barely. The mask that sat upon his face had a few sensors built in, auditory ones included. He scowled slightly, suddenly feeling a burst of energy as the force welled from the figure just up ahead. The silhouette darted forward, faster than him, faster than he could have expected.

A curse left his lips.

In an instant Vrak drew the saber-staff from his waist. The Alliance were busy with the explosion outside and this starport had long ago abandoned all hopes of supplying it's own security, that meant as they entered the corridor he was more than free to do as he pleased. The Saber-staff ignited with that signature snap-hiss of the two crimson blades. In an instant Vrak whirled the weapon back, and then threw it.

The blade spun forward, becoming nothing but an obscured floating disc as it flew towards the silhouette.

The saber-staff sparked and sliced through the metal of the corridor, slicing into signs, water fountains, and whatever else stood in it's path as it headed directly towards the figure.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The Twi'lek growled, Lekku alerting her to the impending danger as it approached, allowing herself to fall into a slide as she twisted her body back and around to face the persistent irritant chasing her. With a tug of the Force the assassin pulled free one of her own sabers just as Vrak's twirled in a boomerang manner above her head, returning to him. A single snap of her finger brought the violet blade tearing into existence all before she came to a stop.

A single spring in her legs stood her upright. Without so much as a word of question her hand curled into a grip, surrounding the man before her in a coil of dark energy to pressurize his throat and seal off his airways. Each step she took the stranglehold would grow tighter. There was no expression on her face other than the determination to end this quickly. The grip on her saber hand became nearly as tight as the grip she would enact around the Sith's throat. Kaine had saw fit to quite literally beat into her memory time and time again the need to kill one's enemies without discretion.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

The blade spun back to him, though he did not catch it.

The greatest advantage of a Saber-staff, as he had been taught nearly since birth, was it's unpredictability. Unlike a regular lightsaber most were not used to fighting against the duel edges of a saber-staff. The wider range of the weapon and the more substantial counter-balance made it more difficult to predict in movement. Especially when the blade was naught but a spinning disk.

As soon as he felt the grip on his throat Vrak once again called upon the force.

The lightsaber that had been spinning back towards his palm was guided with a quick hand, the air quickly being forced from his lungs just as he turned the blade with a subtle pull. The cyclone of plasma spun for half a second behind him, a garbled guttural cry of pain escaping through his mask as he turned the blade and then swung it back. This time however he didn't send it towards the silhouette, but instead towards the ceiling.

The blades cut and twisted through the metal, sending a shower of super heated sparks towards the approaching woman.

A distraction to break her grip and concentration.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The woman snarled from beneath her armor. With a quick influx of the Force she separated herself from the Sith. Instead of engaging the man again she took the opportunity created by his own tactic to turn on her heel and flee. Killing him would be simple, however if he were not Alliance forces, nor a Jedi, he lacked the ability to cause her any real measure of concern. The job was done. He was simply an opportunist. Sera peddled back and raced once more for the landing pad. Her lightsaber retracted into its' hilt and she was off once more. Though the weapon remained in her hand just in case, she did take the time to pull free a pair of benches from where they sat along the wall and impede the straight path behind her as she ran.

"H4! That damn ship had best be in the air you little schutta!" She barked once again into her comm. The droid began to reply but it was cut off. "NOW you hunk of scrap!"

Up ahead she could see the glass doorway. Sera had no time to waste on things such as doors, and as such, tore it straight from its' hinges and hurled it off to the side. Three platforms and a walkway separated her from the LUX. The imp behind her could chase if he desired. All he would find at the end for his trouble would be death.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

Chase he did.

Vrak had no idea who this woman was or what she wanted, but it was more than clear to him that she was very likely the assassin that had taken the governors life. That in it of itself made her a worthy target, add onto that the fact that she was clearly a force user, and a skilled one at that, it only made it more paramount that he chase her.

The lightsaber smacked into his hand with a quiet thud, one half instantly snapping back into the hilt as he charged forward.

The still active blade went slicing into the objects that she threw into his path, crimson plasma cutting through wood and metal within the blink of an eye. Sparks flew, the mask on his face keeping him from closing his eyes as he chased her. At the end of the tunnel he could hear the rumble of engines, repulsors thrumming their hypnotic tune as a ship was being powered up. Vrak let out a quiet Curse, his feet pressing off the ground as he bounded forward.

His free hand came up.

A single, massive spark of Lightning Jumped from his finger-tips, not enough to kill her likely, but hopefully enough to bring her to the ground.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The Twi'lek's ears picked up the lightsaber behind her carving through the objects, giving her a brief estimate as to how far back the welp was to her. He was unnecessarily persistent, that much was certain. Perhaps this had been a setup? Take out the official and tie up the loose end? It seemed a stupid decision, given her reputation for getting the job done and then disappearing. The crackling of sparks behind her was an all too familiar sound. One that had been used against her a number of times in the past.

A tactic that was both cheap and irritating. Force Lightning.

The arc of electricity struck against her back just as she made it between the now open doorways, a single step onto the walkway that led to the landing pad. Sera tucked her shoulder as she fell forward and rolled to a stop with one knee up. The bit of smoke rising from her back where a hole had singed through her cloak was more than irritating. Her teeth bared behind the veil obscuring her face. The job was finished. She could still turn and flee. However this insolent being was deserving of a beating he would not soon forget.

Her eyes shifted, focusing briefly on the doors that were now bent and slightly disfigured, hurling them both towards Vrak with nothing but the simplest of impulses whilst she stood back on her feet, violet blade returning to nip at the air.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

His lightsaber flicked forward again, only one end ignited. The crimson blade sliced through both of the doors, a small nudge of the force breaking them apart and sending them crashing to the floor besides him. There was a loud clatter as the metal bucked against the scorched and scratched hallway, a water fountain being knocked off it's edge as one of the heavier pieces clattered against it. Water began to spray behind him, sparks from one of the overhead lights falling down as he slowly stepped towards the end of the hallway.

Eyes darted towards the violet lightsaber.

Color didn't really indicate much anymore besides preference. Few Sith that he had encountered even stuck tot he vaunted red that would have marked them half a century ago. Now everyone seemed to go for whatever color matched their eyes instead of their heritage. The color of her blade gave no hint as to what she was, though he was almost entirely certain that she'd killed the Senator.

A snarl pulled across his face.

His free hand threw up and to the side, a light nudge of the force threw a broken sign towards the woman's legs.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Ever so quickly the Twi'lek's hand rose, halting the sign dead in its' tracks, leaving it lazily hanging in the air as she stared towards Vrak, the only visible aspect of her face being the slight pink of her skin that surrounded her green eyes. Telekinetics was her game. Had been since she was a small child. As a Jedi she had perfected it. As an assassin she had expanded on it. It came as naturally to her as her affinity for acrobatics. A slight flick of her hand and the sign was launched off somewhere into the distance.

What this irritating little peasant wanted she hadn't the slightest clue. But all the same she charged towards him, her own violet lightsaber becoming a twirling blade of hyper heated plasma on a straight and narrow course for the Sith's abdomen. It was little more than a distraction, as her secondary blade was drawn once she had closed the small gap that separated the two, the snap-hiss just barely preceding the quick procession of cuts towards Vrak in an attempt to quickly overwhelm the acolyte with various rolls and twists of her wrist.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

Vrak beat back the first strike, then the second.

For the third the other end of his Saber-staff ignited with that same loud snap-hiss. As soon as their weapons touched however it became more than apparent that he was outmatched, whoever this woman was, she was faster, stronger in the force, and likely more skilled. His lips thinned as he beat back repeated blows of her lightsabers, his saber-staff flicking back and forth to guard against both weapons at the same time. His teeth gnashed together, face contorting.

He knew that the only way he would win this was through tricks.

Slowly Vrak fell back into the hall, towards the sparks and pouring water.

His fingers laced around the saber-staff as she struck out at him once again, her lightsaber flicking down and catching the side of the hood. Searing hot plasma sliced through the cloth and into the side of his mask, burning plasteel and scorching the side of his face. He let out a roar of pain, his fingers tightening around his own weapon as his feet swept forward to kick her legs out from beneath her.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The female's expression remained hidden, though empty, behind the veil. She simply continued battering against Vrak in a wildly calculated manner. Sera never understood the premise behind the desire to wield a staff. It was counter intuitive. It restricted the wielders mobility to a degree that could be devastating up close. The length of the staff itself proving to be the biggest hindrance most often. She had slain a great number of people in her time, and very few ever stood for very long when wielding any kind of staff, be it saber or pike.

It just seemed archaic.

As she battled against Vrak H4 spoke into her comm. "Ship is ready, master." The female ignored the statement for the time being. She was too focused on what this acolyte thought he was doing interrupting her. The instant she heard his wail of pain her cheeks puffed from the delighted smile. Vrak's leg came forward, hooking around her left ankle, pulling against her which set her flurry of blows off course. It would earn him a reprieve from the constant assault she had been lacing him with, something that opponents of Ataru found incredibly necessary. The woman did not fall, though. Rather she used the momentum and the change in their lightsaber positions to tuck herself between the opening of Vrak and their previously connected blades.

In a single breath the Twi'lek silenced both lightsabers, dropping them back to her side as both hands extended outwards, a rippling effect of purple appearing at the tips of her pink fingers, violently sending a series of arcs dispersing from each tip towards the armored man in front of her. A debt she would repay for the burning sensation she felt in her back, and the scorch marks over her own armor.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

Searing pain rushed over his skin, rippling arcs of lightning rushing through him, eye twitching slightly. His lightsaber half dropped to the floor, blade silencing itself as he barely maintained a grip on the weapon. His lips pulled back into a snarl, his fingers seized to fists, every muscle in his body grew taught.

A road escaped him.

This was not the first time he had felt the rush and pain of Force Lightning. His father had used it as a punishment for him and his siblings. Each time they would fight, each time they would mess up during a training, whenever they did something to displease their father they would be met with lightning. It was not a pleasant punishment, Vrak much rather would have stood in a corner for a few hours, but it had at the very least given him some ability to withstand the electrocuting attack.

His eyes twitched again, smoke rising from his shoulders.

A free hand shot out from him, striking like a viper towards the woman's throat.

The idea was simple, they were close to together, and if he managed to grasp her the lightning would surge into her own body as well as his own, or so he hoped anyway.

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Bold. The man grabbed hold of the Twi'lek's largely unprotected neck, pulling down the veil that obscured her face at the same time. The markings on her cheeks and forehead would be much more visible now, as well as the wrap that adorned her upper forehead, where behind her shoulders her lekku remained relatively hidden. Though what she was would likely no longer be much of a secret. Not a great many species had her pigmentation, lithe build, and dexterity. The man's fingers wrapped around her throat before she had an opportunity to react, immediately subjecting herself to the same punishment once again as Vrak, causing her focus to immediately break and release the dispersion of electricity.

She let out a scream of her own before the arcs faded from existence.

Vrak would see the disparaging scowl on her face now, his hand still firmly around her airway. Her hand grabbed hold of his weapon, cautious of the fact that both ends could be ignited independently of one another, and so in order to skewer him without injuring herself she would need to be careful of that. He would see, or the very least, know what she was about to try and do the instant he felt the tug of war against the staff.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]