Wounded Pride Is Dangerous

[Thorlief Gunnarson]

Going to Naboo was a risk. It was too close to the Core Worlds for Ged's liking, and that was close enough for Jedi and other Republic forces to get the drop on him. Not to mention that he didn't exactly blend into the crowd. The mask made him stick out like a sore thumb. He would have taken it off, but he didn't want to show his scars for the world to see. He had some pride in his appearance. No-one wanted to see his ugly scars when they could look at a beautiful face mask. Yes, it was a liability, but at least he was able to look good once more, even if it was artificial beauty.

Even if the Jedi did find him, he welcomed the opportunity to fight them and kill them. They would pay for taking his sister and not him. He may have found a niche in the Sith, but he would not forget how the Jedi wronged him, and he wanted them to realise the part they had played in his turn to the dark side.

Unfortunately, his revenge fantasy would have to wait, as he was looking into a strange occurrence on this planet. Apparently, some foolish merchant had come into possession of a Sith Holocron, and had been openly bragging about it. Though he was unsure about it, the temptation of a Holocron was far too overwhelming for Ged, which was why he had made the dangerous trip to Naboo in order to seek the merchant out. If it was genuine, he'd come away with a Holocron, and the merchant would be a little worse for wear. If it was a trap, woe betide anyone who was unfortunate enough to find themselves at the end of his wrath.

 

[Lina Djo]

[SIZE=10pt]Unfortunately for Mia, she knew the merchant that didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut. His name was Jose and he had tracked Mia down to the shipyard and practically bounced next to her as she moved round the Wayward Angel, making a list of repairs on her data pad[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“It’s genuine!” he squealed, hopping from one foot to the other “it would benefit you and your fellow Mando’s greatly. You should see the information on it! Look!”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]He pulled it out to Mia’s despair and she hissed “Put it away” before glancing round to see if anyone was watching. “I am not interested! Only and idiot like you would go round shouting about that. You’re going to get yourself killed! I’ve already had one close call with the sith and quite frankly I’d like to avoid another so close to it.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She turned her back on him and moved to Bandit who was displaying a hologram of the Angel that was rotating slowly. She removed the data chip from the pad and inserted it into the R9 droid and watched frowning as the repairs began the flash up on the hologram.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“You had a close call with a Sith? No way! You’re still alive too! Haha! Come on Mia, for old time sakes, take this off my hands. No one else will!” Mia rolled her eyes and shook her head.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“I wonder why.” She muttered. “Bandit take these down to the engineers and see what price they can give for the urgent repairs.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The R9 droid beeped an acknowledgment and rolled away. “I’ll drop the price…” pleaded Jose.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Di’kut! Why are you still talking to me! Usenye!” her face was contorted with anger and the merchant reeled from her. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“That’s a low blow, insulting me in a language I can’t speak. I got the last word though. Your loss Mia, your loss” He started to walk away turning around again after a few steps “50% off?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Mia pulled out her blaster and shot the floor by his feet, enjoying the squeal that came from him as he fell over backwards in fright.[/SIZE]

 

[Darren Onyx]

Onyx was in the skies over Naboo in his fighter. He felt the power of the holocron below in the city markets.

Since his last encounter with a holocron, one that belonged to Darth Nihilus, he became obsessed with them and would do anything to obtain it. As he landed he packed his belt with a blaster, his purple lightsaber, and several grenades. Although he was a sith, he was still trained in the arts of shooting and explosives.

He was on Naboo and was hell bent on finding it. He prayed that those who had it would hand it over lightly or face death.

 

[Thorlief Gunnarson]

It was fortunate that holocrons gave off a trail that any Sith...well, any competent Sith....could sense. Ged's own job was made all that simpler. Still, there was the matter of what to do when he actually found the merchant. Did he give this fool a mind-trick, and leave with the holocron and a minimum of bloodshed? Or did he blast his way to the prize, felling all opposition? Such choice was a luxury, and he wanted this to be as quick as it needed to be. Didn't want any Republic forces to get a hold of that much power, after all.

He walked into the shipyard calmly. The simple black cloak he wore billowed out behind him, cutting a more intimidating figure. The holocron was nearby, he could sense it. Now, which one of these pilots had it with them? Had it been sold to one of these fools, or was the merchant still out there?

 

[Lina Djo]

Mia had disappeared inside her ship to change out of her oily clothes, and when she came out she found Jose sat on the bottom of her boarding ramp. "Jose!" she exclaimed "Why are you still here?!" she stalked past him, remotely raising the boarding ramp as he scrambled after her.

"You don't understand!" he said, the desperation in his voice almost making her feel sorry for him. "You are my last resort."

"Gee thanks" she replied sarcastically.

"If I don't sell this, they're gonna..do things to me that I can't even begin to imagine." he was sweating and glancing over his shoulder. Mia stopped her advance and gave him a stern look "I'm gonna do things to you that you can't imagine if you don't take that stupid holocron somewhere else."

"Shhh!" he looked over his shoulders again, "not so close to the engineers! Can't you just help out a friend!"

Mia shook her head. "Giving you my credits is not helping you out. Shooting you might be. Besides which you are not my friend, you just a merchant I have bought things from before. Things that broke, for the record. Its a no deal." She made to walk away but caught a glimpse of a dark figure and groaned. "Who did you deal with?" she asked Jose.

"Some thie-smugglers from Tatooine I think" his cover up was a drastic failure and Mia nearly slapped him.

"You dealt with Huttese thieves?! You deserve everything coming to you Jose."

 

[Darren Onyx]

As he walked through the shipyard, Onyx caught glance of a dark figure. He could sense the force around him. It was another Sith. He knew that if this was a Jedi or Mandalorian, he would need help taking them down. He started straight towards the figure to intercept and hopefully start an alliance with.

 

[Thorlief Gunnarson]

There was a second Sith here, and a powerful one. Ged sighed with relief. He'd forgotten to pay for a return journey. If this Sith had a ship, he would be most grateful if he could hitch a ride back with him. Ged assumed that he was here for the holocron. No doubt he could sense it. The dark side power it gave off was overwhelming. He made sure that the mask was right over his face, just in case the Sith caught a glimpse of his hated visage.

 

[Lina Djo]

She could see two of them now Mia watched them carefully as Jose babbled incessantly at her about how he was going to die. Why was she still standing with him? Why did she even care? She didn't even like Jose, he was a good for nothing double crossing scumbag who deserved nothing more than to be torn apart by the hutts.

But he was defying the Sith. "You want my advise Jose?"

"No I want your credits, woman!"

"Get on a ship, fly deep into space and stick that damn thing out in the trash and let it float because it is better to face the huts than to deal with what's coming your way right now." He looked bemused then he followed her line of sight and squealed before trying to hide behind her. She shoved him roughly away before stalking back to her ship. Too scared to do anything else he followed.

"Who are they?"

"Sith. they can sense the holocrons and you haven't exactly been quiet about it either."

"You gotta help me Mia." he begged as she climbed the boarding ramp of her ship to suit up. "Stay of my ship Jose, or i'm gonna shoot you." pulling on her armour she called for Bandit over the comm frequency urging him to come back pronto. Descending the ramp again she had both blasters in her hands.

Jose was hiding behind the boarding ramp. Mia stood her watching as the sith came nearer, keeping her eye out for the R9 droid.

 

[Darren Onyx]

Before Ged could reach the ship, Onyx grabbed his chest and stopped him dead in his tracks. "Listen to me; I know you are sith. I can feel it. There is a holocron here. You will help me retrieve it or you will be killed right here right now. Understand?" Onyx spoke in a sinister tone that most would faint at hearing. But this was another sith, they all talked this way when in situations like this.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

Feeto strolled idly through the scrapyard, too focused on his current objective to pay any mind to the pilots, engineers, scavengers, and droids milling about the place. It was evident from his casual swagger that the Rodian was here on business most people would be wise to stay out of: Hutt business. Feeto was a favorite of a few of them, especially when it came to calling in debts. It was a decent living as far as consorting within the criminal underworld went. The best way to stay safe from the Hutts is to stay on their good side, Feeto always said.

So when Feeto was told to track down some goofball named Jose and bring him before the Hutt he'd stiffed, it seemed like a fairly cut and dry ordeal. In fact, Feeto could see the rotten little bugger right now, hiding behind some human chick's cargo ramp. She seemed to be more focused on something else, so Feeto didn't expect her to exactly leap to Jose's aid. Feeto arrived before the cargo ramp, walking around it so he could get a good look at Jose. Yeah, that was him alright. He took his pistol out of its holster, motioning for Jose to come forward with it.

"Awful close to that boarding ramp, Jose. You weren't planning on going anywhere, were you?"

 

[Thorlief Gunnarson]

"You know, you could just ask nicely, fellow Sith." Ged replied, gripping Darren's wrist and removed his hand. "I know about the holocron. That's why I'm here." Hey, help was always appreciated. It couldn't hurt to be extra-careful by having another, probably more combat-efficient Sith than he was, by his side. "And for the record, I could take you easily." He didn't mean that. It was just a little Sith jest. Did the Sith even have jests? Probably their closest approximation was torturing their victims for hours. That was fun, but did it count as a joke?

"I'm thinking we mind trick this merchant. We'll get what we want and won't leave too much of a mess."

 

[Darren Onyx]

Onyx thought about his threat and knew it was nothing. Based on their physical stature, this sith was more of a force user then a fighter. Onyx, on the other hand, was a fighter. He rarely used the forced and when he did it was short and powerful. The most powerful being force throw (OOC: lift, throw, and all that) mixed with lightning. Deadly. He thought about his offer and gave a small laugh. He removed his hood to reveal himself. "Good to see you again Ged. I really had you going there!"

 

[Thorlief Gunnarson]

Ged gave out a hearty laugh. He hadn't expected Darren Onyx to be present. This was perfect. From a tactical standpoint, Onyx was Ged's opposite, preferring lightsaber combat over the finesse of Force mastery. Personally, Ged couldn't get a grasp on lightsaber fighting. It wasn't because he didn't understand how necessary it was. He knew it was an important part of being a Sith. He just wasn't any good at it. He would have revealed himself, but he had sworn not to take off the mask unless it was really necessary, like when he slept. Ged had found out the hard way that sleeping with a mask on is very uncomfortable.

"You certainly did, Darren." He said. Though no-one could see his smile, his voice had an air of cheer to it. "I didn't think you'd be here."

 

[Darren Onyx]

Onyx laughed as well. He was just as surprised as Ged was. "To be honest I didn't think I'd be here either. But I felt a shift in the force. A holocron."

Onyx and Ged had been friends for several years and he knew Ged was there for the same reason. Why else would a sith be on Naboo?

 

[Thorlief Gunnarson]

"So you said." Ged smoothed the front of his clothing. "Somewhere around here, there's the merchant that bragged about it." Unfortunately, there were a fair few starships in this bay. They may have to search them all until they found the right one.

Oh, wait. They didn't have to. All they needed to do was search for any nearby shifts in the Force. And honestly, Ged was a lot better at that than his companion. He closed his eyes, and in his mind, he stretched out with the Force. He could feel it. The Dark Side was drawing him in, like a black hole. He wanted it. He needed it.

He opened his eyes, though no-one could see that he had, and pointed to Mia's ship. "It's in there."

 

[Darren Onyx]

Onyx turned to where he was pointing. He laughed, "We gonna go nice and easy or loud and deadly?"

Onyx, unlike Ged, was a run n' gunning type of person. He always fought more then talked. But when he did talk, he could be very persuasive. Mainly with girls. Thankful, the owner of this ship was a girl. Maybe they wouldn't have to fight.

 

[Lina Djo]

Mia pointed her blaster at the Rodian that approached her ship and attempted to coax Jose out from his hiding place.

"Hey, who said you could come near my ship?" She turned to face him distracted from the approaching Sith. She looked at Jose who had poked his head out looking at her in a pathetic manner, like a puppy who had been caught doing something he shouldn't. "You can get the hell away from my ship aswell." He slunk out from under the boarding ramp his hands on his heads.

"I was discussing business with this captain, she was showing intere-" Mia smacked him hard with the but of her blaster and he dropped like a rock, unconscious. She clicked her tongue irritably, very aware that the Sith had joined and were on their way. This day was not going as she planned it.

"Listen up," she told the Rodian without even looking at him "See those two heading our way? They're sith. See this holocron," she said rolling Jose over with her foot and retrieving it from his pocket. "It belongs to them. Now if you had the choice, whose wrath would you face? the huts? or theirs? because personally I would chose the huts. They are going to ask for this and I am going to give it to them. You can go tell your boss that Mia Monroe sends her regards and he can come get me himself, or you can try and stop me. Your choice, but make it fast."

 

[Darren Onyx]

Onyx picked up the pace. He knew the girl had mentioned them approaching. He could tell by the speed she was talking and how she looked at them. He also knew that they could get arrested if anyone found them out. So he decided to have no witnesses; true sith fashion. In on swift move he ignited his purple lightsaber and lashed at the mans back (OOC: Rodain) and plunged into him while he was on the floor, killing him. He sheathed his weapon and began to speak to the girl in a sinister tone. "Grab the holocron and get on the ship."

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

(( You do not get to automatically kill me. Sorry, buddy, but I'm not an NPC you can walk over to glorify your character. Expect this response to reflect heavily upon your poor behavior. ))

Feeto merely snorted, holstering his pistol as he watched the woman knock out Jose. "Don't need permission to be near a privately owned ship. Just on it. Open a law book, might do you some good."

Feeto raised an eyebrow as the woman spoke. He wasn't here for a holocron. He was here for the fellow she just knocked over the head. He didn't care for any of that political stuff: Sith and Jedi, Empires and Republics. It was all the same, really. People pushing other people around.

"What? I could care less about that holocron. I'm here for the sucker you just clonked. Thanks for that, by the way." When she mentioned two figures heading towards them, of course the Rodian turned around. If the chick had any intention of shooting him, she'd have done it already, so he wasn't all that concerned with that prospect. Sure enough, there were two gentlemen heading their way. They must've been Sith, because they certainly dressed in the typical fashion. He didn't take his eyes off of him. What kind of idiot would keep their back turned when they knew two Sith were coming that way? It wasn't as if Sith were even hard to spot these days, always striding about in black clothes and goofy armor to try and look intimidating.

Kind of like the one heading towards Feeto right now.

The Rodian was prepared to exercise his diplomatic savvy, of course. "Easy there, Darth Menacing. I'm sure we can-"

No such luck. Feeto could see it play out before his eyes, the Sith activating his lightsaber and going for a slash directly across Feeto's chest. This guy was sloppy. Clumsy was an understatement. At least, to Feeto anyway. Feeto was a well-traveled fellow; definitely wouldn't have gotten this far if he didn't know how to avoid a gimp with a sword. Feeto wouldn't say he had fought Jedi, but he had run from them and avoided a few of their swings. Those guys were skilled; much more stylish too. This schmuck? Not so much.

Both arms raised in reflex, a small, instinctive jump backwards was all it took the agile Rodian to avoid what would've been a lethal blow. "Go ahead, human. Now'd be a great time to give the dark-clad gentleman over there the shiny little bauble he wants." Feeto said, somewhat shakily, as he continued to back up towards the woman he spoke to.

 

[Darren Onyx]

((OOC: Sorry about that. It was my friend typing while I was away. I must say I am deeply sorry for that. I promise it is the last time anyone is allowed on my computer while this site is up))